His personal experiences of the metropolis distilled into 16
original pieces for piano & electronic. Featuring guest artists Michel
Portal, U-zhaan, Keiichiro Shibuya, Hiroshi Watanabe & Guti
The new album "Tokyo Stories" captures Francesco
Tristano's deeply held admiration for the city in 16 original compositions for
piano, synthesizers and electronics. The album reflects his long personal
connection to Tokyo, with each piece or ‘story' crystallizing experiences that
range from the profound to the happily serendipitous. Composed by Tristano and
recorded primarily in Tokyo, the album features a variety of guest artists on
several tracks, including the Japanese musicians U-zhaan, Keiichiro Shibuya and
Hiroshi Watanabe, Argentine electronic artist Guti and legendary French
musician Michel Portal.
Tristano explains: "I came here for the first time in
2000. I was only 18 years old, a freshman at the Juilliard School of Music in
New York. I realized very soon that New York City is barely even comparable to
the mega-city that is Tokyo! It felt totally like a neon jungle. Clearly, I was
impressed. I remember this first experience very fondly, even though there were
some difficult moments. I didn't return until 2009, but since then I've made
around 40 trips to Tokyo. This is my humble soundtrack to the city; my album is
not about explaining Tokyo – it is about very specific moments in my mind,
moments that I have lived intensely in this wonderful city over the past 10
years."
In some ways this album picks up where his previous album,
Piano Circle Songs, left off: the stories are piano pieces, but this time
enhanced by live and studio electronics, synthesizers, soundbites and field
recordings made around the city. While the album title doffs its hat to
Yasujirō Ozu's iconic 1950's film Tokyo Story, the inspiration for the music is
personal to Tristano.
An intimate example is Yoyogi Connect, where Tristano
explains: "In the summer of 2017 my father-in-law passed away as I was
traveling to Tokyo. I didn't board my second flight but returned home to play
at his funeral. The trip back afterwards was going to be very different – my
most difficult trip to Japan. I had already begun to explore the city by
bicycle and running, and I had been to Yoyogi Park many times. But that summer,
I went to the park just once: not for running, but to reset my mind. To
reconnect with nature. This song captures these moments of solitude, confusion
and, ultimately, strength and reconciliation."
Three stories will be released prior to the album in pure
piano versions. These are Chi no oto (March 1), Lazaro (March 29) – a
reflective melody written in memory of a friend's father, the melody stayed in
Tristano's mind during the Tokyo recording sessions – and Neon City (April 26),
which Tristano poetically describes as a "Juxtaposition of lights and
shadows. Inexorable beauty and urban sadness. It is the Neon Jungle".
The tracks Lazaro and Neon City will each be accompanied by
the release of a video visually representing the mood of each story.
Tristano's collaborators are as varied as the stories
themselves. The track Cafe Shinjuku sees renowned French musician Michel Portal
contribute a beautiful collaboration on his bass clarinet. Considered one of
the architects of modern European jazz, Portal's many accomplishments as
composer, saxophonist and clarinetist bridge the worlds of jazz, classical,
avant-garde and film music.
Japanese electro-acoustic composer Keiichiro Shibuya
performs on synthesizers and electronics on Gate of Entry. This track is
inspired by Tristano's contemplation of the majestic torii he stumbled upon
when lost in the Tokyo suburb of Asakusa in 2011, while "preparing my mind
for my first club show in Tokyo. The torii gave me energy". Shibuya has
made an international name for himself composing and producing music for film,
sound installations and through cross-sectional collaborations with researchers
and artists using robots and artificial intelligence.
Japanese national master tabla-player U-zhaan adds a unique
flavor with his array of tablas on the track Pakuchi. Tristano and U-zhaan's
first collaboration, it proved an intense process of musical familiarization
which can be heard developing via the call and response conversation between
the piano and tablas.
Bokeh Tomorrow features the Japanese musician Hiroshi
Watanabe on synthesizer and electronics. Watanabe trained at the Berklee
College of Music and is one of Japan's leading electronic music producers; he's
also well-known for composing, producing and recording music for games, TV and
theatre, as well as through his collaborative projects.
The multi-talented artist and electronic music producer Guti
hails from Argentina and provides mesmerizing electronics and synthesizers on
Insomnia. With a deep-seated love of jazz and rock from his first incarnation
as pianist in a popular Buenos Aires-born band, his career since has seen him
play, produce and record house and techno to international and critical
acclaim.
Francesco Tristano will present "Tokyo Stories"
live in Germany in Stuttgart, Berlin and Leipzig in May 2019 and in Japan in
October 2019.
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