John Zorn's Cobra : "Tokyo operations '94"

(Avant, 1995)

Cobra 1: Sensyo (6:07)
Cobra 2: Tomobiki (9:27)
Cobra 3: Senbu (8:08)
Cobra 4: Butsumetsu (8:54)
Cobra 5: Taian (8:05)
Cobra 6: Shakko (9:54)

musicians :

Koichi Makigami: prompter
Yukihiro Isso: dengaku-bue, nokan
Masahiro Uemura: percussion
Kazuhisa Uchihashi: guitar
Shinichi Kinoshita: shamisen
Kiyohiko Semba: percussion
Makoto Takei: shakuhachi
Yumiko Tanaka: gidayu-shamisen
Hitomi Nakamura: hichiriki
Miki Maruta: koto
Mekken: bass
Kyoko Yamamoto: vocal
Taeko Ito: ortin doo

(composed by John Zorn)

NOW

Excerpts from a conversation with John Zorn (THEAWL 03/17/2011) :

The Awl: When did you first travel to Japan? To what extent were you already aware of the depth of the avant-garde tradition there before you went? Or, put another way: how much was still left for you to discover once you arrived?

JZ: this is a long question. I was way into japanese art, literature, film, music and theatre from my teens—in the 60s. First I went there in 1985 or so I kept an apartment there in KOENJI (tokyo) til 1995. I played with SO MANY artists is hard to keep track. I remember seeing a trio of yoshida tatsuya, yamataka eye and null called I believe GEBA GEBA that really was amazing. I hooked up with EYE that very night and we have been tight ever since! The scene there was and still is incredibly diverse and creative. Amazing energy and imagination !!

The Awl: It's funny how some way-out recordings—such as Coltrane's "Live in Japan" box set—were first issued in Japan as though they were no big commercial risk. Maybe it's because music on the fringe feels as though it's so aggressively marginalized in the U.S., but I'm curious how you see Japan's relationship, as a country, to its own musical avant-garde.

JZ: its just as hard for the avant garde in Japan as it is for the avant garde here but the integrity, creativity and tenacity they have is inspiring. They do what they do with no compromise, and very little outside support.

The Awl: Can I ask you for your Top 10 list, regarding extreme/experimental/noise/improv albums by Japanese artists?

JZ: I can't do the top ten but here is a list of some of my favorite musicians !!!

asakawa maki
sato masaru
yamataka eye
yoshimi
haino keiji
makigami koichi
yoshida tatsuya
katsui yuji
seiichi yamamoto
takahashi yuji
ryuichi sakamoto
akiko yano
hosono haruomi
toshinori kondo
ohta hiromi
aoyama michi
kitajma saburo
takemitsu toru
otomo yoshihide

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