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Ryuzen's Blog
Jan. 22 , 2010
String Theory (Part 3)
As of yet I have not found a concrete connection between shakuhachi and guqin. But the fact that the guqin has a tradition in Japan of over a 1000 years was quite exciting to discover. The Chinese zen monk, Shinetsu (Jiang Xingchou) first brought the guqin into Japan in 1677 and passed on his teaching to Taki Rankei who in turn taught it to the multi-talented artist, Uragami Gyokudo. The thing I find interesting is that the guqin pretty much retained it’s Chinese-ness rather than being altered into a Japanese instrument like most of the other imported instruments from China underwent. Perhaps this is why it never became as popular as the koto, shamisen, and shakuhachi. I will try to see if the shakuhachi and guqin in Japan have ever been combined back in those early days.
String Theory (Part 2)
I have a great affinity to meditation traditions, especially Japanese Zen and Chinese Taoist and proto-Taoist practices and the art that sprung from this world view. Being a musician and lover of nature in general, all these interests culminate in these two instrumental traditions which I chose to play with passion. I am already a long time shakuhachi practitioner, and recently started guqin, but feel like it's always been part of my spirit.
Back to my guqin story. My second lesson with the silk-string master was great and learned lots of practical things like learning how to string the instrument, how to tie the yingtou (butterfly knot), basic right and left hand fingering techniques, posture, reading notation, and start of the basic tuning piece, "Xian Yung Zao" (Old Immortal Bathing). But a week later I called teacher to set up another lesson and he told me that he had to discontinue lessons with me as he would be in Taiwan for an extended time. I felt sad, but I immediately called some of the contacts that Professor Thrasher gave me; in particularly Diana Chin. I was pleasantly surprised that she invited me to her place for a lesson immediately. I scheduled a first lesson the following week.
At the lesson I was very much happy to find that Diana was so relaxed and informal about her lessons. She owns a Chinese tea and clothing store in a mall in Richmond where she also teaches out of. Her approach to teaching was that she wanted to get me playing as soon as possible. So she started me on an advanced piece, "Guan Shan Yue", Moon Over the Mountain Pass, a 200 year old piece which expresses the feelings of soldiers going off to war to defend the northern border of China, possibly never to return. Needless to say, I was a bit intimidated by the difficulty of the piece, but Diana said I should be OK. So for the next 4 months I focussed on this one piece learning how to read the notation, developing subtle technique, and callouses on my left hand fingers. At every lesson I would learn a few bars at a time until I finally understood the whole piece's flow and memorized it.......to be continued.
Nov. 19, 2009
String Theory
For the last 6 months I have been semi-obsessed with the ancient Chinese 7-stringed zither called guqin. The biggest reason for me pursuing this fascinating instrument is it's similarity to the shakuhachi: meaning that it, like the shakuhachi, was a sonic bridge to a more refined state of consciousness; a tool to enhance the aesthetic atmosphere and elevate the spirit towards enlightenment and peace. Although very different in form, I couldn't help but muse on if there was a concrete connection; and if not if there was a direct influence on the philosophy and practice of shakuhachi. After 4 months of study, I've had some wonderful, personal discoveries about shakuhachi via guqin.
It is said that the guqin is the oldest of all Chinese musical instruments. But I think this is arguable because I believe that percussive instruments and even flutes, predate chordophones in China. For example there was a recent discovery a 9,000 year old bird-bone flute found in Jiahu, China. Check this article out: http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/1999/bnlpr092299.html. But it is certainly the most revered and most documented of China's instruments from the earliest times. Anyway, my story with the guqin began about 13 years ago. I had just moved to Canada after 4 years in Japan. I was watching a program on TV and a woman was playing a fascinating, 7-stringed, bridge-less, table zither in a meditational setting with incense and tea. She mentioned the instrument she was playing as the "qin" and was a perfect compliment to her meditation. In addition to being totally charmed by the sound and atmosphere it created, it reminded me strongly of the shakuhachi, which I had begun studying five years earlier. I forgot about guqin until I took a trip to San Francisco sometime in 1998 and saw an actual qin at the Museum of Asian Art for the first time. I was very moved by the simple, elegant, "just right" size and the strong desire it stirred in me to play it. Thoughts swirled in my mind of just taking it right off the wall while no one was looking and just walking out the door!!! Later that year I left for Japan to live for three years of intensive shakuhachi study. During a holiday I visited the Tokyo National Museum and saw a qin again in the Chinese section and was moved again. Being deeply immersed in shakuhachi at the time the idea of actually studying this very cryptic instrument never even crossed my mind. As the years passed, occasionally the qin would float in and out of my consciousness. When I returned to Canada in 2001 I began my career as a musician and connected with various musicians in the Vancouver music scene. I met the world music instrument collector, Randy Raine Reusch in 2005 and he actually had a qin. Unfortunately he was not selling it! His wife, Mei Han is a master of the guzheng, 17-stringed Chinese zither. Earlier in 2009 guqin really impinged upon my consciousness and I was finally compelled to search for a teacher. I called Mei Han and asked if she knew any teachers and surprisingly she referred me to a rare master of silk string guqin who lived in near us in Burnaby! I could hardly believe it. Needless to say I was pretty excited. So I immediately called him. Apparently he was in Taiwan at the time and so had to wait for a month till he returned. I finally got to meet him in June and was pretty moved at our first meeting. I didn't have a guqin to practice with so I asked him if he could help me acquire one. He said it was against his principles to deal in the buying and selling of guqin so he suggested I visit UBC and ask the Chinese Music Department if I could borrow their unused guqin. I took his advice and called the head of the Chinese Music Department, Professor Alan Thrasher and explained to him my desire to learn guqin. We set up a meeting and a paid him a visit the following week. It was a good meeting and was happy to see that there was a guqin hanging on the wall that was collecting dust. I asked if I could borrow it and Professor Thrasher allowed me to borrow it in exchange for giving it a maker with new strings. I heartily agreed and finally started playing a qin! During our meeting Professor Thrasher also gave me more guqin connections in Canada. I was so elated to actually have a qin to practice on. Now I could start my lessons with the teacher in Burnaby....to be continued.
Fishing for Kami
Just completed a retreat with Bruno Deschenes from Montreal. Every summer I open my home to students who want to do intensive practice of shakuhachi. Teaching is learning more about shakuahchi for me. It is part of my shakuhachi life. Although I am teaching a student, I am also learning lots from them and the process as well. In the west, there is a saying in the arts: “Those who can’t do, teach!” In Japanese (and other eastern cultures), the perception is different. Teaching is an ubiquitous part in the life of the artist. Teachers are highly respected and consequently have a high level of responsibility in the spiritual and artistic development of the student.
I feel incredibly fortunate to live in an incredibly beautiful place to offer shakuhachi retreats. I feel it’s important to have a place amongst beautiful natural setting far from the city to have a good retreat. Walking and training amongst the ancient trees, the ocean, lakes, hills is so wonderful to connect and communicate with nature’s beauty and intelligence. In Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, there is a belief in Kami, or nature spirits that inhabit all natural phenomenon from rocks to the sky, storms, animals, plants, and humans. Although zen Buddhism was a major influence in shakuhachi practice, so was Shinto to shakuhachi. The idea of Misogi Shugyo, constant daily training, is very important in esoteric Shinto. “Rise early in the morning to greet the sun. Inhale and let yourself soar to the ends of the universe; breathe out and let the cosmos inside. Next breathe up the fecundity and vibrance of the earth. Blend the breath of earth with your own and become the breath of life itself. Your mind and body will be gladdened, depression and heartache will dissipate and you will be filled with gratitude (kansha).” Every morning we walked to the ocean and warmed our bodies up with 200 strokes of the wooden staff or sword. Then blew 100 long tones on shakuhachi then played honkyoku. It’s a wonderful way to start the day! One of the mornings while walking back home from our misogi, carrying our staffs and shakuhachi, a local lady passed us and smile, asking us if we had a good time and if had caught anything in the ocean. I just smiled at her and said, “Yes, we had a great catch!” Bruno and and I just smiled silently at each other and I thought, “Yes, we are certainly caught a big Kami!”
Bruno spent 4 days and nights here and I pushed him to his limit. Here was the daily schedule:
AM
7:00 Rise
7:30 Walk; staff/ken training;RO Buki by the ocean
9:00 Breakfast, rest, free time
10:00 Shakuhachi Lesson
PM
12:00 Lunch, rest, free time, practice
1:00 Shakuhachi making
4:00 Shakuhachi Lesson
6:00 Supper, free time, rest, practice
7:30 Shakuhachi lesson
9:30 Sitting meditation
10:30 Retire
It’s great to be on a steady schedule of shugyou, shakuhachi practice, contemplation, and wonderful meals every day. Sandra cooked all around the clock making sure that Bruno was well-fed.
5 days Retreat Menu
Day 1
Dinner:
BBQ chicken
Grilled vegetables
Chocolate almond souffle
Day 2
Breakfast:
Popover
Fruits
Lunch:
Lentil soup
Rosemary bread
Hummus
Salad
watermelon
Dinner:
BBQ salmon
Asparagus
Brown rice
Ice cream and fruits
Day 3
Breakfast:
Blueberry muffins
Fruits
Lunch:
Spinach pie
Salad
Fruits
Dinner:
Sushi wraps
Miso soup
Pie w/ ice cream
Day 4
Breakfast:
Scones
fruits
Lunch:
Sandwich
Squash soup
fruits
Dinner:
Seafood pasta
Salad w/ goat cheese and cranberries
Banana bread
Day 5
Breakfast:
Toast
Omelette
Fruits
Lunch:
Picnic
wraps
banana bread
Dinner:
Hot pot
Brown rice
Banana soufflé
It’s really moving to see him put all his heart into studying shakuhachi. That’s the proper way to approach shakuhachi! Even though I push him to his limit, he never gets discouraged and finds the beauty and love in the experience. He’s been taking internet lessons with me for the last couple of years, so it is such a relief to actually have concentrated lessons face to face. So much more is imparted. Most importantly is hearing and feeling the actual sound and expression, which is very limited over the internet. Interestingly, I have more internet students now than actual face to face students!
I only offer retreats for one person at a time as I think this is the best way for a student to get concentrated attention. My intention is to teach people how to play shakuhachi to the best of their ability. Much of my teaching is giving the student a strong foundation in basic technique. If the student has enough faith in me, I guarantee that I will teach the student how to play properly and to maximize their enjoyment of the shakuhachi. Along with strong technique, I also emphasize spirituality in the experience of shakuhachi as I believe how one imagines one’s life, and their relationship with the universe, nature, spirit is the most important thing in life. Shakuhachi is merely a tool to express one’s spirit, and to train the mind and body for unifying with the cosmos in a deeper way. I want to teach the student how to play honkyoku wonderfully; but I also teach how to play ensemble music (with koto and shamisen); modern music, and improvisation if the students chooses to do so. But the emphasis is always on growing the root in honkyoku as this is the sound that should influence all other types of music one plays.
There are many teachers and styles of shakuhachi in Japan and more teachers outside of Japan are increasing. I encourage students to experience as many dimensions of shakuhachi as they can and that means having the freedom to train with more than one teacher. No one teacher can give a student all she or he needs. But I think that studying with one teacher for at least the first few years (especially if the teacher is a good one) is very beneficial for the student as one can form a strong foundation in playing and understanding the shakuhachi.
The rest of the summer retreat schedule is booked full. If there is anyone interested in coming for a retreat next year please contact me: ramos@dccnet.com. You can see more information about Bamboo-In Shakuhachi Retreat Centre here: http://www.bamboo-in.com/about-us/temple.html.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu (thank you in advance for accepting be in your group and your time)
Alcvin
June 2 , 2009
Bruno's retreat is complete and now I'm preparing for my trip to Edmonton to play at the Japanese Festival at the Kurimoto Gardens near the University of Alberta over the weekend. Will also be meeting my student John Paul to give a lesson and also give a shinobue lesson to one of the taiko drummers there.
May 27 , 2009
10 Nights with Colleen was a success! It was a great experience and I met some really wonderful people who were all part of the production. Now Bruno from Montreal is here at Bamboo-In doing a week retreat. It's great to be on a steady schedule of shugyou, shakuhachi practice, contemplation, and wonderful meals every day. Although I'm teaching him how to play shakuhachi, I'm also learning lots from Bruno, who is an avid scholar of eastern philosophy and Japanese art and culture. It's really moving to see him put all his heart into studying shakuhachi. That's the proper way to approach shakuhachi! Even though I push him to his limit, he never gets discouraged and finds the beauty and love in the experience. He's been taking internet lessons with me for the last couple of years, so it is such a relief to actually have concentrated lessons face to face. So much more is imparted. Most importantly is hearing and feeling the actual sound and expression, which is very limited over the internet.
May 13 , 2009
Wow, I'm dizzyingly busy now. I've got rehearsals in Vancouver every day till the 25th, shows on the 17th, 21, 21, 23, and a retreat from the 26-30. But it's really fun to say the least. Weather is much nicer and everything is in bloom!
May 2 , 2009
On May 5 I will be playing at a cross cultural event with some Turkish musicians. The organizer asked me to play Bach's "Largo" which I am preparing now. Will also play with Kozue Matsumoto, a piece for koto and shakuhachi. And hopefully will play honkyoku as well.
To continue about my last post a few days ago, like all things, I think think that shakuhachi is quite difficult to learn, especially if you don't have a teacher who knows how to play, and especially outside it's native culture, or a world where the dominant musical culture is different than the instrument's own musical context. I think it's great that there are great teachers outside of Japan working diligently to teach shakuhachi to those interested.
April 4 , 2009
What a great day it is today! Beatiful weather, perfect for working in the garden. Gardening is great workout; lots of heavy lifting, clean air, sunshine, communing with plants and animals, and relaxing for the mind and soul.
I am so blessed to be here on the beautiful Sunshine Coast living at Bamboo-In! Constant beauty, peace, and love; experiencing the change of seasons, nature, and meditation; energizing for shakuhachi and peaceful, deep music.
March 13, 2009
The weather is finally getting warmer. Tomorrow I have to go into town again for a recording. Looking forward to the new projects of the year.
February 6 , 2009
The new year has started kind of slowly, but now it's picking up with the warming of weather. Next weekend I'll be going to Victoria for the Victoria Tea Festival and will be giving shino-bue lessons to some of the taiko people there. Also doing another gig with Satomi on the 18th.
Will be starting rehearsals with Colleen Lanki and Uzume Taiko soon. Also preparing for the new recording of new CDs in Montreal with Tomoko Yamaguchi. Still waiting on confirmation about her dates.
Nov. 28, 2008
We completed the 2008 Shakuhachi Roots Pilgrimage and it was an incredible journey to say the least. During the trip I received my Daishihan license from Yoshinobu Taniguchi along with the new title "Ryuzen" meaning Dragon Meditation. Many other gifts were received on the trip as well which you can read about in the write up which will be ready soon.
Alcvin receiving blessing from Taniguchi Yoshinobu
I will be recording my 3rd collection of kohonkyoku in the spring with Oliver Sudden Records and preparing for a new koto/shakuhachi CD with Tomoko Yamaguchi also on Oliver Sudden
I will also be starting regular shinobue classes in the new year as well!
October 19 , 2008
This week I'm preparing for Japan. I already bought all the omiyage for the teachers in Japan. Will also work on some flutes. I will be in Vancouver all week from Oct. 25 till the 31st for performances with Dharmakasa and one performance with Satomi at the Nikkei Heritage Centre on the 25th.
October 12 , 2008
I just returned from an intense 3-week tour of the northern interior of BC, Canada. It went incredibly smooth and all the schools loved our show from elementary level to high school. It's almost hard to believe! But we did put a lot of effort in crafting the show to appeal to everyone. We survived as a band on the road for 3 weeks so this is a good sign that we can do another tour together.
Dharmakasa in Fort St. James:
Shambunata, Cole, Andrew, and Alcvin
We traveled all the way up to Prince Rupert and the scenery was spectacular. The beauty and diversity of BC blew our minds. We were fortunate to have perfect weather throughout the tour. We are so blessed to be living in the most beautiful place on earth. We visited and played at a number of First Nations schools which was wonderful. I found many similarities of the First Nations kids with those of Japanese youngsters such as their subdued expression of excitement, and warm and heartfelt hospitality.
I hope we get another opportunity to do another tour like this next year!
Now I'm gearing up for another Shakuhachi Roots Pilgrimage this November! I can hardly contain my excitement! Lots of new and beautiful surprises and revelations await us!
September 20, 2008
Things are super busy at the moment as I'm getting ready to depart on a 3-week tour into the interior of BC with Dharmakasa to play several shows for several secondary and highschools. We'll be going to:
Vanderhoof
Fraser
Houston
Terrace
Prince Rupert
30 shows in three weeks!
Then we have several shows (20) in Vancouver when we get back as well. Then Chris has a retreat for a week, then off to Japan!!!!!
Thanks to Peter who created the new Shakuhachi Society of BC site I finally cleaned up this site by making this site entirely Bamboo-In. Things are more clear now that it is clear what is what. Thanks again Peter! Lots of new projects on the horizon for 2009. Stay tuned!
August 31, 2008
Matheus just finished his retreat. Very intense and full of great lessons learned by both of us as usual! Now we're preparing and gearing up for Yamaguchi's visit next weekend. Wheeee!!!!!
Al playing at Shakuhachi Lake
August 22 , 2008
Tomorrow Matheus from Brazil will be here for his week-long retreat. We've been very busy cleaning up for for it. House and garden look beautiful now!
August 21 , 2008
What a year! Sorry for not blogging more often! I'll try to be more diligent in it from now on. In a few days Matheus from Brazil will be coming for a retrat. We've been doing some major clean-up and gardening here at Bamboo-In to get ready for retreats and the workshop in September. Really excited about the Yamaguchis visit. Tomoko will be joining him this year as it is their 25th wedding anniversary and she will give a concert in Sechelt at the Seaside Centre before the shakuhachi-making workshop. I will accompany her on shakuhachi and Shugetsu and I will play Shika no Tone together in that show. I hope lots of people come, particularly the Japanese community on the Coast.
In July I went to Sydney, Australia to attend the World Shakuahchi Festival. I'd like to tell you my personal experience there. For more cursive overview of the Festival go to:
http://www.shakuhachiforum.com/viewtopic.php?id=2613
I've attended the first International Shakhachi Festival in Bisei in 1993 as well as the first World Shakuhachi Festival in Boulder in '98 and the WSF in New York in 2004, and now this year in Sydney. Since the '98 WSF I've wanted to do a WSF in Vancouver, Canada and 2003 I successfully did the Vancouver Shakuhachi Festival (although it was more of a symposium than a Festival!). To tell you the truth it was a very stressful and tiring difficult undertaking, and strained relations witih my family. So I decided I would not do another one. I would just conentrate on small gatherings and workshops, retreats, and occasional visits from teachers from Japan. This felt like a very good decision. So to see the senseis who successfully complete the various WSFs (and smaller festivals each year) is just wonderful to witness how exceptional in their energy and oranization skillfullnes they are. One of my musical colleagues here in Vancouver suggested I hire a professional to seek out corporate sponsorship if I wanted to put on a WSF in Vancouver. I'm thinking about it, but I'm not sure if I want to do it now. I'm satisfied with just doing my little, (but concentrated) work here in BC, and going somewhere else to particiapte in a WSF every 4 years. But it is so enticing to think how much more popular shakuhachi would be in the city and the world after such an event!
My energy level going to Sydney was not at it's optimum and my skin was really bothering me as I have been a chronic sufferer of eczema for a long time. (Later I was to discover i also had a bacterial infection that was affecting my skin.) Combined with the jetlag, I was really feeling low. But was still definitely excited about the festival. The day before the festival I busked at Circular Quay from 9-5 as an honor to my recently deceased aboriginal friend, and first didgeridoo teacher. I met a really friendly aborigine didge player busking at the Quay who actually knew him.
Yidaki busker at Circular Quay
He told me what a terrible death he experienced from brain hemmorage due to excessive alcohol consumption. During his last days he was living on the streets and was in bad shape until he was taken away by the ambulance to the hospital where he passed away. He was only 40. What a terrible shame as he was a really talented being with many great opportunities handed to him on a silver platter. Truly a sad sad story. In that sense I hate alcohol and what it has done to the indiginous people of the world!!!!!! I pray for everyone to have protection from the seductive and destructive effects of this poison. I hesitate to mention my teacher's name as it is against Aboriginal custom to say the name of the deceased. Anyway here is a photo of me and him in Bali at the International Bamboo Congress in 1994.
Al and ----- in Bali for the International
Bamboo Congress, 1994
One of the first people I met in Sydney was Justin Senryu Williams who was also lodging at the Sydney Backpackers Hostel where I was staying. He is an exceptional young, player and maker who studied with various teachers (in playing and making) in Japan and UK. He actually won 3rd place in the S1-Grand Prix for his rendition of Tsuru no Sugomori. I played his flutes and was most impressed. He is definitely a maker to watch in the future.
Finally reaching the venue (Sydney Conservatorium of Music) was such a relief. Meeting many of my teachers and shakuhachi friends from Japan and abroad was such a great feeling! Too many to name! Also meeting many new friends was great too! Unfortunately I didn't have my camera on hand at all times so missed many photos I wished I had taken with everyone.
On the first day of registration, I met up with Yamaguchi Shugetsu who said he didn't have a place to stay and asked where I was staying and said he would like to stay there with me if there was any vacancies left. Later that day we went back to the hostel together and found a bed for him. Lucky for him (and me as well) because for the first few nights I was stuck in the most cowded and messy room of the place. Being very sensitive to cleanliness, it added more stress for me. So when Yamaguchi came they put him in an empty, very clean room and I just transfered over with him! Whew!
Basically, I spent most of my time helping Yamaguchi, as he brought tons of shakuhachi to sell. The shakuhachi vendors were set up at the second level of the Conservatorium. The first vendors to set up shop were Yamaguchi, John Kaizan Neptune, Masami Kurita, and later Justin Williams, Phil Horan, and Peter Hill. This was the most interesting place for me as everyone came to the shakuhachi tables to try play flutes. Man what missed great photo opportunities! Although I was helping Yamaguchi a lot, I did my best to help all of the vendors sell their flutes and it was definitely fun to try all of them! Consequently I didn't attend as many lectures and workshops as I wanted to.
I was schedule to play in one honkyoku presentation and to help the didgeridoo master, Matthew Doyle do a didge workshop. For my honkyoku, I played Neri Saji, a.k.a. Daibosatsu on a hocchiku that I made. I noticed that there were no players presenting hocchiku at the Festival so I felt a need to represent that. I was quite honored to be playing in the same line up as Mitsuhashi Kifu, Sakai Shodo, Komei Takemura, Ronnie Seldin, Elizabeth Reian Bennet. The didgeridoo workshop with Matthew Doyle went fine. I basically helped him carry the instruments into the classroom. Matthew talked about his experience as a cultural steward for Aboriginal culture through the performing arts particularly through dance and music. He gave some interesting information about the didgeridoo the let everyone have a try at playing. However, I was a bit disappointed at the quality of his instruments and would have liked to have concentrated more on the specifics of playing such as circular breathing and basic sound production.
I made it to some of the other workshops which were superb and fascinating. I went to the panel discussion of shakuhachi flute makers with John Neptune, Yamaguchi Shugetsu and Masami Kurita. John pretty much dominated the discussion as he brilliantly expounded on the esoterics of shakuhachi flute physics of sound production. Yamaguchi and Kurita-san also added a few words of wisdom from their experience.
Also went to the jinashi shakuhachi lecture/demo of Satoshi Shimura, John Singer, and Brian Ritchie which was totally fascinating. Great to listen to John's experience with kokan (antique) shakuhachi and their relevance in today's world. Also, Simura-san really going into depth about the difference between the jinashi and jiari experience. And of course to listen to the many interesting old flutes that Brian brought for us to hear and try.
I attended Miyata Kohachiro's lecture on the development of the 7-holed shakuhachi where he gave some very interesting information about playing techniques of the past. He also played a lovely version of "Shika no Tone" for shakuhachi and 17-stinged koto.
Kawase Junsuke sensei's lecture on shakuhachi and chi-kung was wonderful as well. He gave the same lecture back in 2004 in New York.
Also got great inspiration from Ichiro Seki's shakuhachi composition class.
I skipped out on the farewell dinner due to my fatigue. But Yamaguchi gave me a full report when he got back to the room. The big news was that the next WSF 2012 will be in Kyoto!
See you there!
Here are the few photos I took of WSF08:
Komuso group at WSF08
Brian Ritchie playing antique shak
Yamaguchi Shugestu's shak-table
Miyata Kohachiro lecture
Simura Satoshi playing a 3.3 jinashi
Simura lecture w/ John Singer translating
Komuso
Sydney Opera House
May 21, 2008
Germany was great but I'm very happy to be back in BC! Tomorrow is the Yoshida Brother's show in Victoria which is going to be great. Then we come to Vancouver on Saturday.
April 12, 2008
I just deleted the past 5 years of blog posts! I'm in the process of revamping this site. It's much to cluttered and disorganized. I'm working John Endo Greenaway (www.bigwavedesign.ca) for the new look. I love John's sense of design. Can't wait till this is all cleaned up! John is also the one responsible for getting us the Yoshida Brother's gig as well so I'm very grateful to him. I can't believe I've known him for so long. Ever since I got to Vancouver 12 year ago! He is the pioneer of Taiko in Canada (he started Katari Taiko and Uzume Taiko) as well as many other things. Speaking of which I will be going with Uzume Taiko to Germany in a few days. We'll be there from April 13-May 12. I hope to meet the shakuhachi folks there in Germany and Holland.
Today is the O-hanami at UBC Nitobe Gardens! It's going to be great. Koji Matsunobu is in town and a bunch of the students and Kozue Matsumoto the koto player will be coming to play together. The weather is supposed to be beautiful. Hopefully it won't be too cold.
March 12, 2008
Just heard from Global Arts Concerts that Dharmakasa will be opening for the Yoshida Brothers when they come to Victoria and Vancouver. It'll be a good gig for us. Will get more exposure and make more contacts for touring in Japan!
Yoshida Brothers (w/Dharmakasa)
May 23, 2008- 8 PM
Victoria, BC
Alix Goolden Performance Hall
907 Pandora Ave.
Tel. 250-386-5311
Tickets Sold at:
McPherson Box Office , Tel. 250-386-6121
Yoshida Brothers (w/Dharmakasa)
May 24, 2008- 8 PM
Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Playhouse
Corner of Hamilton St. & Dunsmuir St.
Tel. 604-665-3050
Tickets Sold at:
Ticketmaster Vancouver , Tel. 604-280-4444
March 12, 2008
I just checked prices for going to Australia and it looks like it will be a bit too expensive for me to attend the World Shakuhachi Festival this year. Too many expenses to take care of to attend I'm afraid.
Every Monday we have a koto/shakuhachi rehearsal in Kitsilano with Kozue Matsumoto, koto player. It's really great that we've established a regular weekly routine. This is really great for everybody's playing!
March 5, 2008
My new CD, "Zen Shakuhachi 2" is out!
So is the new Dharmakasa CD, "Between Worlds", and the first Densabi CD will be coming out very soon as well. I'm looking forward to playing with Densabi again. March 18th at the Cellar.
Dharmakasa may be opening for the Yoshida Brothers when they come to Victoria and Vancouver on May 23 and 24. That should be really great!
Here are photos from the last two New Year's parties of the SSBC:
February 29, 2008
..... one of the greatest and most influential digeridoo players has passed on into the Dreamtime on Feb. 26! I was very shocked to hear this. He was my very first digeridoo teacher and the most influential player for me in my didgeridoo playing. I first met him in Japan of all places in 1993 while he was on a tour with his Aborigine dance troup. At the time I was living in a small village in the middle of Japan and I coudn't believe this group came to do a show at one of the theatres in the prefecture. I'll never forget the first time I heard his powerful, beautiful playing of his solo that night. I met him after the show and he gave me my first lesson on didge. This inspired me to go to Australia soon after to learn more about the didge and to see and feel the Australian landscpae (particularly the outback: Arnhemland, Katherine, Kakadu, Uluru, Cairns....) and to harvest bloodwood for didges! I met up with ..... once again in 1995 in Bali, Indonesia at the International Bamboo Congress during the music festival. It was great to see and hear him again and get another lesson. Below is a photo of us together in Bali:
Me and ....... in Bali, 1995
....... busking at Circular Quay in Sydney
(Photo by Anoek De Groot)
.......'s spirit lives on in his music and memories. May you be happy and peaceful in the Dreaming, ..........................!!!!!!
February 6, 2008
Wow. I've really been lazy about posting on my blog! Gomen nasai! My my time in So. Cal this past Jan. 21-31 was great! The show at UCSB was very well received and the response to my honkyoku presentation was overwhelmingly positive. I re-connected with my old friend and band mate, Sudama Mark Kennedy of the Dreamtime Continuum and met new students, Emiliano Campobello and Bob Sedivy who have a great enthusiasm for shakuhachi! Also spent a lot of time harvesting agave stalks in the hills of Ojai and making didgeridoos. It was very enlivening. I did contact June Kuramoto of the band Hiroshima (by email), but we couldn't meet this time due to scheduling issues. I hope to play with her the next time I'm in LA. We'll make it happen!
This Saturday is the SSBC Fukizome at Ayako's tea house. I'm really looking forward to it. I will also be teaching at a new place staring next week.
I'm already getting excited about this coming November's Shakuhachi Roots Pilgrimage #5! All spots are already filled. The participants are:
1. Jane Kilthau (NY, USA)
2. Eric Wuersten (Seattle, USA)
3. Stan Goldberg (San Francisco, USA)
4. Thomas Brezing (Munich, Germany)
5. Chris Bernetchez (Gibsons, BC, Canada)
6. Valerie (Chris’s partner) (Gibsons, BC, Canada)
7. Shawnee Schroeder (LA, California, USA)
8. Shawnee’s partner (LA, California, USA)
January 6, 2008
2008. It's going to be a busy year. Lots to do.
My month of December back east was really nice; spending time with family, teaching students in Montreal and doing a concert; despite it being worst day of the year (big blizzard) people still came to the show! Quite amazing. Met and played with Linda Kaplan in Toronto which was really fun. End of this month I will be going to Santa Barbara to do a performance at UC Santa Barbara and Ojai. Also will make some agave didgeridoos and hopefully meet Jun Kuramoto, koto player from the band, Hiroshima. Starting to plan my roadtrip for the winter for 2009.
November 4 , 2007
Last weekend we had our shakuhachi student recital. It went very well. Nice to hear everyone play and then share food together. Larry Yan treated us with a fine performance of Chinese flutes: xiao and dizi.
The students are in Japan now starting their shakuhachi pilgrimage. I'm so excited for them! They will have such a wonderful time. Very well deserved as they worked so hard this year. I will be going definitely again next year. 2008 is going to be a very busy year. I just got invited by Uzume Taiko to tour with them in Germany in April-May. Then we're (Dharmakasa) shooting to go to Australia in July to tour and attend the World Shakuhachi Festival.
Sandra and I will be going to Ontario for the month of December. I will have a concert and teaching in Montreal (Dec. 14-17) then spend time with Sandra's family in Barrie. Hope to meet Linda Kaplan, koto player and Aki Ten Ten, shamisen player.
Septmeber 10 , 2007
What a summer! So much work done here. Sandra's parents spent the last month and half with us. I feel so blessed that they are my in-laws. Their spirits are so pure and beautiful. On top of that, they have an incredible amount of energy as they were non-stop cleaning, building, and fixing things around the place. We re-did the roof of the small deck and insulated it; build a huge woodshed, and built a large extended roofing for Sandra's kiln; and also built a small workshop for my shakuhachi-making. On top of all that Sandra's dad who is a gifted gardener, refined and beautified the garden even more.
This Saturday, Matheus will be coming from Brazil to do a shakuhachi retreat.
Dharmakasa has also been going through some major changes. We added a drum kit (Shambunata) and bass player (Cameron Hood) and added a bunch of new pieces to our repetoire. We've been working on finishing our new CD which will be out in November. We played our public debut of the new 4 piece group at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden on September 7 in the evening. It was, I feel, a resounding success! Our new sound is so different than our previous sound. It's more "jazzy", "bluesy", "dancy", and "rock-n-roll" sounding now. Dare I say more commercial? The good thing about this is that it has more audience appeal and we'll be getting more work from it. Earlier that day we played at an elementary school in Coquitlam and everyone loved it! We're going to be focussing a lot on developing our school show for kids which I really enjoy. I'm also going to try to get Dharmakasa to tour in Australia next year in June leading up to the World Shakuhachi Festival in Sydney. Also hope to do a tour of Japan in October as well.
My new CD of honkyoku will be out this week as well so I will be having CD release performances on the Sunshine Coast. Then in December I will be having shows in Montreal and Toronto. Then hopefully doing a tour of the South and Northwest......
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