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Dance for the One in Six

Dance for the One in Six

"Classic Neptune fusion using Japanese and Indian instruments."

John Kaizan Neptune
Kosei Publishing Company - KJKN-9100
1992

Track Title Kanji Length Artist
1 Dance for the ONE in Six 06'43 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
The Japanese title, Horaku, literally means "entertainment for the gods"-sacred entertainment. I thought "Dance for the [Universal] One" would be a nice translation, and the title became Dance for the ONE in Six, since the piece is in 6/4 meter. This is an interesting meter to work with because it can be divided so many ways.
2 No Clouds 03'15 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
Originally I wrote this piece as an experimental work for shakuhachi of many lengths. I spent many hours in the studio overdubbing all the parts and filled all twenty-four tracks available. The result? It sounded like a pipe organ! I prefer the present arrangement.
3 Under the Tree 04'40 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
I studied South Indian singing at the University of Hawaii, and this tune reflects my interest in and love of traditional Indian music.
4 Evening Waves 04'01 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
I worked a long time to come up with other movements to this piece, but eventually decided the simple melody in 3/4 meter, the simple repeated harmonic structure, and one repeated break (plus some improvisation, of course) were enough!
5 Traveling Together 04'50 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
“Piests traveling and studying together" is the literal translation of the Japanese title. I thought the piece should have a "walking" tempo, with various scenes along the way.
6 Gentle Face 05'22 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
“Peaceful Face" is an alternative title. Quite often I write music without a title in mind, but in this case I wrote the music to fit the title.
7 East of Everywhere 04'18 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
This is one of a series of four "directionless" pieces, the others being North of Noplace, South of Someplace, and West of Somewhere. It is often impossible to categorize my music. I don't have any conscious plan to use different cultural influences or instruments. I simply write and arrange sounds I like.
8 Mountain Echo 03'06 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
The repeated phrases in this piece are not echoes in the literal sense, but the title captures the flavor of the music.
9 Joy 05'51 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
The inspiration for this melody is the old and venerated South Indian classical music tradition. However, the instrumentation and musical textures are different here. My idea was to create something light and joyful.
10 West of Somewhere 08'48 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
The "somewhere" in the title, like the "everywhere" in East of Everywhere, is intentionally vague, because although the piece has Indian-sounding aspects, it is difficult to "place" in any given country's tradition. Curiously, I first conceived the piece with a somewhat Indonesian motif.
11 Playground 04'04 Shakuhachi: John Kaizan Neptune
Whose playground? Mine. The melody explores some of the ideas I've had while quite literally playing around during daily practice. The piece uses only the open fingering on the shakuhachi, producing the fundamental notes D, F, G, A, and C. The idea of the duet (achieved on this recording by overdubbing) reflects the patterns and tonal colors I remember hearing on a recording of African pygmy yodeling- the way pygmies keep in touch with one another as they forage through the forests. The interlocking effect is fascinating to me.