108 from (Cycles) (ICR007) by Kojiro Umezaki

A "Silk Road" number associated with the names for each Hindu deity, sins in Tibetan Buddhism, sacred stars in Taoist philosophy, interior angle of a pentagon, poses in Shiva's dance, elements of Angkor architecture, temple bells ringing for the Japanese New Year, Vishnu's temples, hyperfactorial of 3, etc., this recording uses the old shichijyunikou (七十二候) calendar of 72 events grouped into 24 sections and further organized by the 12 months in a year (the sum of which is 108) to structure a comprovisation inspired by the 108 pulses in the opening dan (section) of the 18th century classical work, "Rokudan no Shirabe (六段の調)," by Yatsuhashi Kengyo.

Noted by The New York Times as a “virtuosic, deeply expressive shakuhachi player and composer,” Kojiro Umezaki performs regularly with the Grammy-nominated Silk Road Ensemble. Umezaki grew up in Tokyo and is a performer of the shakuhachi, a composer of electro-acoustic works, and a technologist with interests in integrating global musical practices with electronics. His latest album is (Cycles).

kojiroumezaki.com