Wednesday, February 15, 2012

THE KOTO MUSIC OF JAPAN - Nonesuch Records ,1965


An impressive study of Japanese koto music ,in varying styles. 6 different masters play pieces solo ,and as duos and/or trios. This is the mono version of this fine album ,procured from the back room at Record Trader ,the storefront of my Ft. Myers,FL pal ,Ralph Tarantino. Pristine vinyl ,not a pop or click or scratch to be found! Since the interest in my post ,"Koto -The Beatles" (found here: http://archive.org/download/Koto-theBeatles/279Koto-theBeatles.zip  ) ,garnered over 200 downloads (including receipients as far flung as Captain Sensible of The Damned! and his friends) ,I figured it was time to unleash this beast upon the ears of the world! The liner notes are very informative ,telling the stories of each of the masters ,and the tales behind the music. Could not find a link to this anywhere ,but did see a few sites selling the lp. Very zen ,and trippy ,almost a Japanese version of the Indian sitar music.Mellow and merry-making. Cover art by John Trotta ,produced by Jac Holzman ,recorded by Katsumasa Takasago in Japan. Most folks don't know the famous Japanese koto was actually brought into being by the Chinese! Part of Nonesuch's "International Series".
CLICK HERE:
https://archive.org/download/TheKotoMusicOfJapan-NonesuchRecords1965/TheKotoMusicOfJapan-NonesuchRecords1965.zip

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