Search - Kazu Matsui :: Stone Monkey

A varied assortment of shakuhachi fusions

Brianna Neal | USA | 10/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shakuhachi player Kazu Matsui brings this traditional instrument forward into the twenty first century, experimenting with various mixings and modern musical styles, and accompanied by wife Keiko Matsui on piano and Hajime Hyakkoku on guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion and programming. Several of the songs are composed or co-composed by Keiko, a celebrated Jazz / New Age pianist in her own right, and they bear her signature sound--deep, rich, and full of pounding, heartfelt passion. Other selections have more of a techno quality to them, lending a slightly disparate character to the album when listened to as a whole. Most of the music, regardless of style, is minor and often intense in character. I love the sound of the shakuhachi, and its haunting tones do manage to at least kiss all of the tracks and are truly featured in some, but the instrument is definitely peripheral in others. I like most of the compositions well enough, but I tend to find myself wishing for more shakuhachi and less of all the other stuff, which can be heard in abundance elsewhere, including Keiko Matsui's lengthy discography. There's such an intriguing, subtle quality to the sound of the shakuhachi; it deserves to featured and truly heard, even in modern fusion music. Kazu Matsui has many other albums, and for more music in the vein of "The Stone Monkey," try "White Owl" and the other lusciously jazzy albums by Keiko Matsui, in which Kazu plays too. You might also enjoy "The Best of Nakkai: In Beauty We Return," in which a master of the Native American flute also experiments with a variety of modern musical genres. For more traditional fare, check out the many shakuhachi recordings of Riley Lee, in which this venerable instrument takes center stage simply and unadorned, and nonetheless holds the attention wonderfully.

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The Stone Money by Kazu Matsui

Charla B. Priest | Oklahoma | 10/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The music on this CD is soooo cool. It totaly relaxes me but at the same time it "jazzes" me up. I love it."