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John Zorn Currates New Vocal Music From Japan in NYC
Japan Society's 2005-2006 performing arts season concludes with two separate concerts that represent an unprecedented meeting of Japan's avant-garde vocal-music masters and U.S.-based experimental musicians. Curated by renowned composer-musician John Zorn and presented in collaboration with his independently operated record label, the “Tzadik Label Music Series: NEW VOICES FROM JAPAN" features a brilliant kaleidoscope of sounds from the boldest vocal works in Japan's new music scene. The roster includes underground noise guitar-hero and Japanese superstar Haino Keiji; vocalist-composer and theremin pioneer Makigami Koichi, known for leading the long-running underground band Hikashu; and disquieting iconoclast Yamataka Eye, who first garnered public attention with his violent noise group Hanatarash and later as the front man vocalist for the Boredoms. Dynamic American-based musical guests include voice-master and leader of Fantmas Mike Patton, post-classical composer Jim O'Rourke, breath-taking laptop pioneer Ikue Mori, and John Zorn himself.
Performances run Fri. & Sat., May 12 & 13 at 7:30 pm. Two day passes are $46 / $38 for Japan Society members, and single tickets are $35 / $30 for Japan Society members. Call 212-715-1258 or visit www.japansociety.org to purchase tickets or for more information. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th St. (accessible by the 4/5/6 at 42nd St. or E & V at 53rd St.-Lexington).
John Zorn has been a central figure in NYC's downtown music scene since 1975. With countless records to his name, Zorn incorporates a wide range of musicians in various compositional formats. His experimental work in rock and jazz with the bands Naked City and Masada has earned him a large cult following. Dedicated to releasing exemplary avant-garde and experimental music, Zorn founded the Tzadik record label in 1995. Under the label he has recorded dozens of seminal albums.
Makigami Koichi is a Japanese avant-garde vocalist whose strong background in theater extends from his 1973 beginning with the Tokyo Kid Brothers to ongoing relationship with Richard Foreman. Along with performing and directing his own company, Ulysses, he was a member of the innovative music group Hikashu. His first solo album appeared on the Toshiba label in 1982. Often accompanying himself on the theremin, Koichi has performed with Davis Moss, Betsuni Nanmo Klezmer featuring Umezu Kazutoki, and toured with cellist Erik Friendlander, accordionist Ted Reichman and trumpeter Frank London. Neil Gladstone of the Philadelphia City Paper noted Koichi “creates emotive improvisation using grunts, purrs and huffs. With accompaniment ranging from mouth harp to ragged percussion, it can be dramatic, riveting and inane, but always intriguing."
Yamataka Eye first garnered public attention with his existentially challenging noise group Hanatarash. Their recordings, while intensely powerful presentations of chaos, only hinted at the destructive potential of the live performances. The most infamous shows had Yamataka nearly lopping his own leg off with a saw, and driving a small backhoe into the wall of the club. In the mid-80's Yamataka founded the Boredoms, a collaboration that has evolved from complex, hyper-accelerated punk rock to their use of repetitive and trance-inducing sound effects. Over the years the Boredoms' popularity reached fanatic heights; they were featured in 1996 Lollapalooza Festival in Las Vegas, New York and Detroit; later that year they toured Denmark, Holland, France, Germany and England with the Roskilde Festival. In 1998 they toured England's Glastonbury Festival and in 1999 they toured to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.
Haino Keiji is a Japanese musician whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise, singer-songwriter, solo percussion, psychedelic, minimalism and drone styles, and covers. He has been active since the 70's and is known for intensely cathartic sound explorations. From his first rock duo Fushitsusha in 1978 to the garage psychedelia cover band Aihiyo in 1998, Kieji has formed several groups including Vajra and his latest band, Knead, with Ruins (Tatsuya Yoshida and Hisashi Sasaki). Since 1992 he has performed internationally, including at the Moers Jazz Festival in Germany as well as other various cities in Germany, Holland and the U.S. Along with numerous solo and group projects, he has performed in collaboration with musicians including Thurston Moore, Barre Phillips, John Zorn, Bill Laswell, Peter Brtzmann, Faust, Tony Conrad, Mayo Thompson, AMM, Z'EV, Derek Bailey, Christian Marclay, Fred Frith and Lauren Mazzacane Coners. He has released well in excess of 100 records and CDs.
Mike Patton formed Mr. Bungle with collaborators circa 1985. He joined Faith No More in January of 1989 when the band released the chart-topping album The Real Thing. While Faith No More officially disbanded in 1998, Patton's work with Mr. Bungle secured the band a record deal with Warner Bros. They released an eponymous album produced by John Zorn in 1991, Disco Volante in 1995, and their final 1999 album California, which was widely regarded an essential record by such mainstream publications as Maxim and Rolling Stone. Patton has handled lead vocals for Tomahawk and Fantmas as well as worked with Bjrk and the beat boxer Rahzel. He has produced such side-projects in collaboration with other musicians, such as John Zorn, Dan the Automator, The Melvins, Dillinger Escape Plan, Melt-Banana, Sepultura, and Merzbow, Lovage, Maldoror, Weird Little Boy, and Kaada. Along with Greg Werckman, he co-founded and runs Ipecac Recordings. In 2005, Patton signed on to compose the soundtrack for the upcoming independent movie Pinion, marking his debut scoring an American feature-length film.
Multi-instrumentalist and studio giant Jim O'Rourke has worked in music and film since the mid 80's, producing for artists ranging from Wilco, Stereolab, and Sonic Youth to John Fahey, Tony Conrad, and Faust. He has performed regularly with improvisers Derek Bailey, Ikue Mori, Akira Sakata, Henry Kaiser, and others, as well as a member of Sonic Youth, The Red Crayola, and Fennoberg amongst others. He has scored films for Olivier Assayass, Shinji Aoyama, and Werner Herzog. His own films have been part of the Rotterdam Film Festival and the 2004 Whitney Biennial. In 2005 he won a Grammy for his production of Wilco's A Ghost is Born.
Ikue Mori moved from her native city of Tokyo to New York in 1977. She started playing drums and soon formed the seminal no wave band DNA with fellow noise pioneers Arto Lindsay and Tim Wright. DNA enjoyed legendary cult status, while creating a new brand of radical rhythms and dissonant sounds. In the mid-80's Mori started to employ drum machines in the unlikely context of improvised music, highlighting her own sensitive signature style. Throughout the 90's she collaborated with numerous improvisers throughout the USA, Europe and Asia, while continuing to produce and record her own music. Mori won the Distinctive Award for Prix Ars Electronics Digital Music category in 1999. In 2000 she began using the laptop computer to expand on her sound. During the 2000's, Mori continued to receive major commissions and residencies.
Since the inception of the Performing Arts Program in 1953, Japan Society has introduced more than 500 of Japan's finest performing arts to an extensive American audience. Programs range from the traditional arts of noh, kyogen, bunraku and kabuki to cutting-edge theater, dance and music. The Program also commissions new works; produces national tours; organizes residency programs for American and Japanese artists; and develops and distributes educational programs. “At once diverse and daring, the program stands toe to toe with some of the most comprehensive cultural exchange endeavors today" (Back Stage).
Japan Society, America's leading resource on Japan, is a private, nonprofit, nonpolitical institution offering programs in the arts, business, education and public affairs. Founded in New York in 1907, Japan Society promotes greater understanding and cooperation between Japan and the U.S., and in recent years has reflected a broader Asian and global context in U.S.-Japan relations.
Japan Society 2005-2006 Performing Arts Programs are made possible in part by the Starr Foundation; the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund; the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; and The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc. Programs also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.
Performances run Fri. & Sat., May 12 & 13 at 7:30 pm. Two day passes are $46 / $38 for Japan Society members, and single tickets are $35 / $30 for Japan Society members. Call 212-715-1258 or visit www.japansociety.org to purchase tickets or for more information. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th St. (accessible by the 4/5/6 at 42nd St. or E & V at 53rd St.-Lexington).
John Zorn has been a central figure in NYC's downtown music scene since 1975. With countless records to his name, Zorn incorporates a wide range of musicians in various compositional formats. His experimental work in rock and jazz with the bands Naked City and Masada has earned him a large cult following. Dedicated to releasing exemplary avant-garde and experimental music, Zorn founded the Tzadik record label in 1995. Under the label he has recorded dozens of seminal albums.
Makigami Koichi is a Japanese avant-garde vocalist whose strong background in theater extends from his 1973 beginning with the Tokyo Kid Brothers to ongoing relationship with Richard Foreman. Along with performing and directing his own company, Ulysses, he was a member of the innovative music group Hikashu. His first solo album appeared on the Toshiba label in 1982. Often accompanying himself on the theremin, Koichi has performed with Davis Moss, Betsuni Nanmo Klezmer featuring Umezu Kazutoki, and toured with cellist Erik Friendlander, accordionist Ted Reichman and trumpeter Frank London. Neil Gladstone of the Philadelphia City Paper noted Koichi “creates emotive improvisation using grunts, purrs and huffs. With accompaniment ranging from mouth harp to ragged percussion, it can be dramatic, riveting and inane, but always intriguing."
Yamataka Eye first garnered public attention with his existentially challenging noise group Hanatarash. Their recordings, while intensely powerful presentations of chaos, only hinted at the destructive potential of the live performances. The most infamous shows had Yamataka nearly lopping his own leg off with a saw, and driving a small backhoe into the wall of the club. In the mid-80's Yamataka founded the Boredoms, a collaboration that has evolved from complex, hyper-accelerated punk rock to their use of repetitive and trance-inducing sound effects. Over the years the Boredoms' popularity reached fanatic heights; they were featured in 1996 Lollapalooza Festival in Las Vegas, New York and Detroit; later that year they toured Denmark, Holland, France, Germany and England with the Roskilde Festival. In 1998 they toured England's Glastonbury Festival and in 1999 they toured to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.
Haino Keiji is a Japanese musician whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise, singer-songwriter, solo percussion, psychedelic, minimalism and drone styles, and covers. He has been active since the 70's and is known for intensely cathartic sound explorations. From his first rock duo Fushitsusha in 1978 to the garage psychedelia cover band Aihiyo in 1998, Kieji has formed several groups including Vajra and his latest band, Knead, with Ruins (Tatsuya Yoshida and Hisashi Sasaki). Since 1992 he has performed internationally, including at the Moers Jazz Festival in Germany as well as other various cities in Germany, Holland and the U.S. Along with numerous solo and group projects, he has performed in collaboration with musicians including Thurston Moore, Barre Phillips, John Zorn, Bill Laswell, Peter Brtzmann, Faust, Tony Conrad, Mayo Thompson, AMM, Z'EV, Derek Bailey, Christian Marclay, Fred Frith and Lauren Mazzacane Coners. He has released well in excess of 100 records and CDs.
Mike Patton formed Mr. Bungle with collaborators circa 1985. He joined Faith No More in January of 1989 when the band released the chart-topping album The Real Thing. While Faith No More officially disbanded in 1998, Patton's work with Mr. Bungle secured the band a record deal with Warner Bros. They released an eponymous album produced by John Zorn in 1991, Disco Volante in 1995, and their final 1999 album California, which was widely regarded an essential record by such mainstream publications as Maxim and Rolling Stone. Patton has handled lead vocals for Tomahawk and Fantmas as well as worked with Bjrk and the beat boxer Rahzel. He has produced such side-projects in collaboration with other musicians, such as John Zorn, Dan the Automator, The Melvins, Dillinger Escape Plan, Melt-Banana, Sepultura, and Merzbow, Lovage, Maldoror, Weird Little Boy, and Kaada. Along with Greg Werckman, he co-founded and runs Ipecac Recordings. In 2005, Patton signed on to compose the soundtrack for the upcoming independent movie Pinion, marking his debut scoring an American feature-length film.
Multi-instrumentalist and studio giant Jim O'Rourke has worked in music and film since the mid 80's, producing for artists ranging from Wilco, Stereolab, and Sonic Youth to John Fahey, Tony Conrad, and Faust. He has performed regularly with improvisers Derek Bailey, Ikue Mori, Akira Sakata, Henry Kaiser, and others, as well as a member of Sonic Youth, The Red Crayola, and Fennoberg amongst others. He has scored films for Olivier Assayass, Shinji Aoyama, and Werner Herzog. His own films have been part of the Rotterdam Film Festival and the 2004 Whitney Biennial. In 2005 he won a Grammy for his production of Wilco's A Ghost is Born.
Ikue Mori moved from her native city of Tokyo to New York in 1977. She started playing drums and soon formed the seminal no wave band DNA with fellow noise pioneers Arto Lindsay and Tim Wright. DNA enjoyed legendary cult status, while creating a new brand of radical rhythms and dissonant sounds. In the mid-80's Mori started to employ drum machines in the unlikely context of improvised music, highlighting her own sensitive signature style. Throughout the 90's she collaborated with numerous improvisers throughout the USA, Europe and Asia, while continuing to produce and record her own music. Mori won the Distinctive Award for Prix Ars Electronics Digital Music category in 1999. In 2000 she began using the laptop computer to expand on her sound. During the 2000's, Mori continued to receive major commissions and residencies.
Since the inception of the Performing Arts Program in 1953, Japan Society has introduced more than 500 of Japan's finest performing arts to an extensive American audience. Programs range from the traditional arts of noh, kyogen, bunraku and kabuki to cutting-edge theater, dance and music. The Program also commissions new works; produces national tours; organizes residency programs for American and Japanese artists; and develops and distributes educational programs. “At once diverse and daring, the program stands toe to toe with some of the most comprehensive cultural exchange endeavors today" (Back Stage).
Japan Society, America's leading resource on Japan, is a private, nonprofit, nonpolitical institution offering programs in the arts, business, education and public affairs. Founded in New York in 1907, Japan Society promotes greater understanding and cooperation between Japan and the U.S., and in recent years has reflected a broader Asian and global context in U.S.-Japan relations.
Japan Society 2005-2006 Performing Arts Programs are made possible in part by the Starr Foundation; the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund; the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; and The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc. Programs also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
