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Michiyo Yagi
Her solo koto CD "Shizuku" was produced by Zorn and released on the Tzadik label in 1999. In 2001 she recorded "Yural" with her koto ensemble Paulownia Crush for the East Works label. Under the auspices of the Japan Foundation, Michiyo toured Russia with Paulownia Crush in the fall of 2004. Subsequent CD releases include "Seventeen" (Zipangu, 2005), entirely recorded on the giant 17-string bass koto, and "Live! at SuperDeluxe" (Idiolect/Bomba, 2006), a trio performance with bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. A studio recording with Dresser and Rothenberg, a duo album with Sharp, a “Nordic” session with Eivind Aarset and Raymond Pellicer, and live recordings of the touring trio Brötzmann/Yagi/Nilssen-Love are forthcoming. An eclectic performer who continually challenges conventions, Michiyo has made frequent appearances on Japanese TV and has performed at the Kongsberg Jazz, Moers Jazz, Punkt, Musique Actuel Victoriaville, Archipel, Bang on a Can, Tokyo Summer, and Vision Festivals.
Michiyo has performed with: Peter Brötzmann, Mark Dresser, John Zorn, Elliott Sharp, Han Bennink, Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, Håkon Kornstad, Omoto Yoshihide, Ned Rothenberg, Eivind Aarset, Jason Roebke, Knut Buen, Bugge Wesseltoft, Satoko Fujii, Joëlle Leandre, Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins), Bill Laswell, Thomas Strønen, Kazutoki Umezu, Masahiko Sato, Carl Stone, Kang Tae Hwan, Tamaya Honda, Assif Tsahar, Billy Bang, MZN3, Keiji Haino, and Sachiko M. Her koto has been featured in ex- Judy & Mary guitarist/singer Takuya's rock band, and she has recorded and performed with pop idol Ayumi Hamasaki.
Gear
21-string koto, 17-string bass koto, 13-string koto
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Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2023
by Stefano Merighi
Esaminare il curriculum di Michiyo Yagi significa inoltrarsi in un fittissimo reticolo di collaborazioni stilisticamente trasversali e tutte di alto livello. E rendersi conto della serietà del suo lavoro e della considerazione in cui è tenuta nel mondo, dall'ambito accademico fino a quello pop. C'è voluto il festival di Saalfelden per organizzare un invito ufficiale nei confronti di Yagi, con una residenza ben congegnata, senz'altro uno dei vertici artistici per cui si ricorderà l'edizione di quest'anno della manifestazione austriaca, che ...
read moreGordon Grdina's The Twain feat. Dōjō and Kōichi Makigami: Gordon Grdina's The Twain feat. Dōjō and Kōichi Makigami
by Doug Collette
Any music lover impressed with the prolific output of multi-instrumentalist Gordon Grdina over the last few years would no doubt describe his work with The Twain as a wondrous discovery. Three hour- long sets were recorded at Tokyo's GOK Studio in 2019, then edited down to a final approximately seventy minutes for a late 2022 release. It is certainly worth waiting for, if for no other reason than it both illustrates and reaffirms the broad grasp of the Canadian's musicality ...
read moreAngular Mass/Soul Stream
by Vincenzo Roggero
Michiyo Yagi, Paal Nilssen-Love, Lasse Marhaug Angular Mass PNL Records Valutazione: * * * ½ Trio anomalo quello formato dal batterista norvegese Paal Nilssen-Love, dal mago dell'elettronica Lasse Marhaug e dalla virtuosa di koto Michiyo Yagi. E trio particolarmente convincente. I primi due brani ne rivelano il lato dionisiaco, le percussioni di Nilssen-Love sono esuberanti, polimorfe ed implacabili, l'elettronica di Marhaug crea un ossessivo fondale al quale apporta minime ma decisive variazioni, il ...
read moreMichiyo Yagi / Elliott Sharp: Reflexions
by Eyal Hareuveni
Tokyo-based koto player Michiyo Yagi and New York-based guitarist/composer Elliott Sharp have been collaborating since the mid-nineties. Yagi, during her tenure as visiting professor of music at Wesleyan University, was looking for role models who transform the conventions of their instruments, experimenting with sound and musical forms. Sharp was one of these mavericks that Yagi was drawn to, along with others including Fred Frith and Marc Ribot. Over the years, this improvising duo, which has kept collaborating ...
read morePaal / Michiyo / Broe: Volda
by Eyal Hareuveni
The sophomore release of the trio featuring German reed legend Peter Brötzmann, Japanese koto iconoclast Michiyo Yagi and Norwegian master drummer Paal Nilssen-Love--following Head On (Idiolect, 2008)--is a remarkable demonstration of how energy and power transform into spiritual catharsis. It's easy to understand why this trio was named the Spirit & Power Trio during its Japanese tour, few months after this release was recorded.
It's not about muscular, full onslaught, raw power, as is often mistakenly associated with Brötzmann's many ...
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