[NewMusic] natsuya takatani

[Ava Mendoza]

i went to tatsuya nakatani's show at 1510 8th street with phillip
greenlief, george cremaschi, and tom djll on wednesday.. great playing
by everyone, it was a real treat of a show..

tatsuya is a very beautiful player, he has an enormous vocabulary and
a really strong concept of texture and timbre in percussion.. at this
show and on the recordings of his i've heard he brings in loose, slow
pulses a lot in really malleable, subtle ways. i guess he is similar
to le quan ninh but he has a really special kind of ritualistic sense
to his playing..
i bought one of his solo cds, Green Report 12, it is super and
everyone should buy it! he
really creates a huge, immersive world from solo percussion..

i wish that Mills had gotten wind of him in time to hook something up
for him there while he was out here.. he's a semi-young player on tour
who could use the help, and one of the most interesting percussionists
in the country..it seems like he'd be ideal for a workshop or concert
at mills.. er, nudge.. anyway it was a great show on wednesday and
wish more people had made it out..

nastrovia,
ava