Yumiko Tanaka, a famous Japanese avant-garde musician, performed at Japan Society as part of the ongoing film series The Dark Side of the Sun: John Zorn on Japan Cinema. The series is curated by John Zorn who used to have Japanese movie screening downtown years ago and it is the first time the film series is hosted at Japan Society. The selection of movies features obscure and lesser know Japanese films that have never been screened at Japan Society before.
The performance on November 15th was a live accompaniment to the silent film Crossroads (Jujiro) from 1928 directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. Yumiko Tanaka was joined by Satoshi Takeishi, who is currently based in NYC, on percussions. Yumiko is the master of Shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument often used to accompany film, theatre and opera. The music and the images blended perfectly and created a unique audio-visual experience, mesmerizing the silent audience.
Curious to learn more about Yumiko’s background and her involvement with the avant-garde music scene, we caught up with her after the brief reception at Japan Society following the performance.
Flowers In A Gun: Shamisen is not a very typical instrument to play, what attracted you to it initially?
Yumiko Tanaka: The first time I heard the sound of Shamisen I was about 18 and the sound seemed very introspective and familiar to me. It’s an old sound but to me it was new. The instrument has a lot overtones, a lot of noise. In general it has a lot of sound, very rich sound.
FIG: You have a very diverse musical career – you play traditional music as well as more avant-garde modern stuff. Is it challenging for you to bring the two together?
YT: When I was a kid I played piano, that was my first instrument. I was classically trained. And then when I discovered Shamisen and wanted to take classes I thought that I would have to study very traditional music. But I also wanted to play Western music on Shamisen. So I was interested in both from the beginning – traditional music as well contemporary Western music.
FIG: You have been involved with the avant-garde jazz scene for a while. What attracted you to it?
Y: At first I was listening to a lot masters. Eventually I performed with the Japanese Traditional Instrumental Orchestra. In that group they performed the music of Western composers, but it was more classical scene. And then later I had a chance to perform with jazz musicians. And the music was more of a fusion – there was a combination of traditional Japanese instruments together with piano and saxophone or guitar. And so I was involved in that group. And then later I wanted to try more experimental, free jazz. At that point a musician invited to me John Zorn’s Cobra. And at this gig there were a lot of weird improvisers. It was very strange for me, I am used to classical music and this was very different. And then jazz … There are scores, but with imrpovisers there are no scores. And I thought that it was very nice to be free like that. So I felt something there. And I thought that maybe this improvisation is what I felt closest to. And I wanted to try doing something like that. After seeing Cobra. And I tried to be more involved with the avant-garde musicians and I met a lot of noise and electronic musicians around that time. I have performed this very strange, bizarre music many times now and I really like it, it’s very, very nice.
FIG: You also perform with dancers and in theatres, what attracts you to it? And what kind of music do you typically play when you do it?
Y: Everything, traditional music and improvisation, it’s always a mixture. Improvisation is free but it is still contained within a certain music world. And when you play with dancers or performers, it’s a different atmosphere, a different interaction. And it’s not just about the sound, it’s about everything, every movement, all of it is important. You have to have a connection to really feel it.
FIG: And how did the performance tonight come together? Were you asked to perform to a specific movie?
Y: Well, there were four movies and I picked this one [Crossroads]. This film is amazing even though I don’t really like horror movies. The visuals are brilliant and it looks very unusual and avante-gurad, it’s very expressive too. It’s an old film from 1928, but it still feels very new.
FIG: How did you create the sound to go together with the movie? It was such a perfect fit with what was going on visually!
Y: It’s a mixture of improvisation and written music. I have some scores for the movie written down but then the version of the movie that I have on DVD is very different from the one that we performed to tonight. But I watched the movie many times and know it very well. The scores that I have are not rigid, they are ideas that go along with the scenes.
FIG: Will you perform anywhere else in NYC while you are here?
Y: I am performing at Japan Society again this coming Thursday, but it will be very traditional music. My Master will perform with me and there will be traditional Japanese dancers. And there will be other Shamisen players. I also have a show at the Stone on November 27th.
FIG: That sounds amazing! Thank you.
Anna Yatskevich is Flowers In A Gun’s glamorous jazz & beyond critic! Catch more reviews from her here and follow her on Twitter @jazzaddikt.
