Shakuhachi blues Shakuhachi montuno Mura-iki on a samba The Okinawa scale over modern jazz chords Funk shakuhachi Yes, that and more, as Jonathan and I combined the shakuhachi (that mysterious and infamously difficult Japanese bamboo flute) and piano (that most "Western" music making machine) to create an engaging new musical fusion.

Jazz Shakuhachi is based on over six years of recording and performing that has yielded a body of composition and improvisation tailored to these two wildly disparate instruments. It features:

Live stage clips filmed at STB 139, a club located in the Rippongi district of Tokyo, Japan.
Engaging discussion of strategies for blowing, writing and interpreting across the cultural divide.
Easy to understand examples from original tunes and folk songs.
Clear on-screen notation of scales and chord names.
Short improvisation exercises for play along or keyboard study.

Jazz Shakuhachi includes:

Pedagogically-arranged chapter headings and menus.
Screen notation, chord names.
Overhead keyboard shots.
Optional Japanese subtitles.
Printed glossary and sheet music.
Screen glossary.
Live concert clips.

Jazz Shakuhachi could be for you if you are:

A traditional shakuhachi veteran looking for ideas for a new musical outlet.
A western-trained musician, but shakuhachi beginner, hoping to exploit your chops in a new and creative way.
A composer or back-up player looking for hints on bringing out the best of this traditional instrument.
An educator introducing new trends in non-western music, aesthetic issues in modern fusion music or Japanese studies.

Jazz Shakuhachi presents key issues in a fast and interesting pace while attempting to answer the following questions:

How can I begin enjoying improvising with only a rudimentary knowledge of the shakuhachi or with little or no jazz background?
How can I harmonize chords played on the piano with the open tones of the shakuhachi?
How is the shakuhachi uniquely built for the blues?
How are Japanese folk melodies ideal for Latin jazz?
How can I build a jazz solo or play over fast chord progressions on a 5-hole bamboo flute?
How can traditional scales apply to modern jazz chords?

Jazz Shakuhachi includes performances of the following original tunes and arrangements:

Zen In ‚ Ro, Tsu, Re, Chi, Ri Blues
Mogamigawa (Mogami River Boat Song)
Amado River
The Number You Have Reached
Bright One
Like the Wind

Jazz Shakuhachi video comes with a 20-page booklet that includes an Introduction, Glossary and Sheet Music of all the pieces performed.V-20 Dual Language - English with Optional Japanese Subtitles

When I See Winter Return