Stomu Yamashta - Live from Paris (CD)

Live at the Palais des Sports in Paris on 12 June 1976, Paris

Stomu Yamashta (percussion & piano), Steve Winwood (vocals & keyboards), Klaus Schulze (synthesizers), Michael Shrieve (drum kit), Al DiMeola (solo guitar), Jerome Rimson (bass), Pat Thrall (guitar), Brother James (congas), Karen Freidman (vocals)

TRACKLIST:

1. Space Song 2:30
2. Carnival 1:12
3. Wind Spin 9:30
4. Ghost Machine 3:43
5. Surf Spin 2:20
6. Time Is Here 9:20
7. Winner Loser 5:10
8. Solitude 2:00
9. Nature 4:25
10. Air Voice 1:10
11. Crossing The Line 7:50
12. Man Of Leo 15:30
13. Stellar 1:25
14. Space Requiem 3:35

Biography

Stomu Yamashta, a Japanese percussionist and keyboardist has had a varied career. He has toured with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, worked with the jazz-rock band Come to The Edge, and has recorded works by Henze and Maxwell Davies. He has written highly successful theatrical and multi-media shows like The Man From The East and Raindog, as well as the score of the Shukumei for the British Royal Ballet. His music has been used in films including The Devils and The Man Who Fell To Earth. Mr. Yamashta studied jazz drumming at Boston's Berklee School of Jazz.

One of his earliest recorded works is Red Buddha(1971) which is performed solely with percussion instruments. However, he is most widely known for the Go project. Go was a super group featuring British keyboardist Steve Winwood, Jazz guitarist Al DiMeola, German synthesist Klaus Schulze, and drummer Michael Shrieve(played with Santana). Go released 3 albums, Go, Go Live in Paris, and with the departure of Steve Winwood, Go Too. Go Too is currently available on CD, but the other 2 Go albums remain out of print worldwide.

After retiring briefly to a Buddhist temple in his native Kyoto in 1980, Yamashta released a number of recordings that used synthesizers, taped sounds, orchestral instruments, and percussion. These recordings have been classified as space music. Sea and Sky(1983), is currently available on CD. Here is a reprint of a review that I scanked off the web:

Stomu Yamashta's music is a skillful integration of environmental sound effects such as cosmic wind, water drops, and bird chirps with a variety of instrumental tones. On SEA & SKY, his talents are showcased at their best. Composed entirely by Yamashta, SEA & SKY is performed primarily on synthesizers and percussion, creating a dramatic recording that makes one think of an expansive, beautiful world that is there to be discovered in all its exciting glory. On SEA & SKY, electronic and real orchestra fade in and out, blur into one, separate, and work together to create an aural allegory about the birth of life and the growth of knowledge - Keyboard magazine. Yamashta's performance, along with those of Takashi Kokubo and Sen Izumi, is delightfully breathtaking.