Tapestry: Koto & The Occident Hillside
T. Yonekawa, K. Yamaya & Contemporary Sound Orchestra

'Tapestry: Koto' is a 3-album series produced by Nippon Columbia in the mid-1970s dedicated to one of the main instruments of Japanese traditional music: Koto. The beauty of the trilogy curated by composer Kiyoshi Yamaya, whose chapters are respectively dedicated to Sea, Hillside and Country, lies in the fact that they are a modern translation of tradition using newer and more avant-garde sound idioms, integrating the koto with jazz musicians. An original mix, a 'crossover’ that allows for the awakening and the consequential spread of traditional music in larger contexts.

The extreme accuracy of the marvellous recordings is also remarkable.

The performers on this fabulous album are:

Toshiko Yonekawa - learned to play the koto at an early age, performing in a public concert as early as 8 years old. For three years, from 1941 to 1944, she won prizes as the best performer in the Japanese Cultural Federation's competition for traditional trios.

She also received an award from the Prime Minister. Many other important recognitions followed until she became president of the Reichokai and executive director of the Sankyoku Association.

In 1996, she was appointed Living National Treasure.

As a koto player, her best-known characteristics are her extreme precision of intonation and rhythm and the unparalleled beauty of her sound.

Kiyoshi Yamaya - born March 1932. He attended the Kunitachi College of Music. Between 1956 and 1960, he performed with 'Nobuo Hara and His Sharps & Flats' (clarinet, saxophone, etc.) and was responsible for composition and arrangement. In 1959, he formed the 'Modern Jazz Three Association' with Norio Maeda and Keitaro Miho, which contributed to the improvement of the level of composition and arrangement in Japanese jazz.

In 1965, he became conductor of the 'Tokyo Union Orchestra' and received the Japan Record Award's Arrangement Award.

His name appears on more than 100 albums.

An unmissable session for those seeking new sounds.

Original masters licensed by Nippon Columbia for the first ever reissue. Includes OBI and insert.