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- 価格を確認するには左のカート内にある地域を選択してください -

FREE align:left">The remarkable musician and composer Katsura Yamauchi performing on his own and - for the first time on CD - leading a group of fellow saxophonists. Yamauchi's solo consists of serene compositions and deeply focused improvisations with a gentle sense of tone and time. The ensemble premieres the idea of "semi-automatic improvisation", a system created by Yamauchi, in addition to expressive tunes and a beautiful ballad, all merging the abstract and the familiar.

Compositions and arrangement by Katsura Yamauchi (山内 桂)

Katsura Yamauchi: Sopranino and alto saxophones

Salmosax Ensemble workshop members:
Chiharu Mizukawa, Kota Furusawa, Shiori Teshima, Yoshiomi Shuto, Yuka Takemoto

Recorded at Asami shrine in Beppu, Japan, May 24th, 2009.

Mastering and design: Martin Vognsen

"Yamauchi displays formidable purity of conception..."
The Jazz Man

"...en imponerende, dybt fascinerende, virtuos og original instrumentalist... kolossalt kraftfulde kompostioner... En meget gennemført udgivelse."
"An impressive, deeply fascinating, virtuosic and original instrumentalist... compositions of colossal power... A very consistent release."
-Geiger, oktober 2010 (Danish / English auto-translation)

Katsura Yamauchi (b. 1954)

Katsura Yamauchi picked up his first saxophone in the early 1970s and was quickly drawn to modern jazz, avant-garde and free improvisation. Born in Beppu, far from the traditional creative centers around the bigger cities of Japan, Yamauchi was until recently relatively unknown, but has now shown himself to be one of the most unique musicians in Japan.

For years Katsura Yamauchi was sporadically active as both musician and concert organizer and helped arrange performances in Japan for veteran musicians from both the USA and Europe, such as Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann and Milford Graves.
Not until 2002 did he quit his regular job to dedicate himself fully to music. Yamauchi was influenced by the new experimental sounds coming from Tokyo, but had developed his own original style, mixing improvisation and minimalism with melodic elements. The music is at the same time challenging and easily accessible, unrecognizable and beautiful.

Katsura Yamauchi has released several solo CDs and recorded with Michel Doneda, Gunter Müller and Norbert Möslang from Voice Crack and performed with Taku Unami, I.S.O., Misha Mengelberg, Tatsuya Nakatani, Sharif Sehnaoui, Jason Kahn, Otomo Yoshihide, sachiko M, Barre Phillips, Kim Dae-Hwan, Gino Robair, Toshinori Kondo, Yoshimitsu Ichiraku, Travassos, Toshimaru Nakamura, Seijiro Murayama, Han Bennink and many others.

In addition to extensive activity in Japan, Katsura Yamauchi has toured the USA and several times in Europe. He has performed at many international festivals, including Musique Innovatrices, Castello Canalis, Beppu Contemporary Art Festival, Ftarri Festival, Amplify Festival and Asian Meeting Festival.

"Katsura Yamauchi is really both a new and a veteran artist... I am greatly refreshed by his energetic and confident performance."