World Concert Artist
Directory
Directory
Phil Nyokai James
shakuhachi
shakuhachi
Phil Nyokai James is one of the few acknowledged American masters of the Japanese shakuhachi flute. Traditionally trained in New York and Japan, he is proficient in the Kinko, Meian, and Kinpu Ryu schools of shakuhachi as well as contemporary music and improvisation. He specializes in experimental and extended techniques for the shakuhachi. A composer of many works for solo piano, voice, and chamber ensembles as well as shakuhachi, he has performed extensively with choreographers, poets, and theater companies throughout the United States. He recently (2003) debuted his multi-media composition You Were Dazzle with text by the well-known novelist Carole Maso, and he has recorded two CDs of his own compositions, Already Gone and first places.
Of first places, the noted composer/performer Stuart Dempster wrote: "Phil James in first places performs a beautiful and profound set ranging from the earliest known shakuhachi pieces to an homage to John Coltrane while, at the same time, honoring Missouri's natural soundscape. First places provides the listener with spiritual nourishment bordering on the sacred." In reviewing the same CD, the American Music Center's NewMusicBox commented: "Phil James' relationship to music and his surroundings are nothing less than spiritually profound... his playing and compositions are always deeply communicative and highly sensual."
Contact details and further information
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For further details, see Phil Nyokai James's website