koto
Koto may refer to:
* Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group
* Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument
* Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana
* Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women
* K ...
'' player and composer. He was renowned all over Japan for his skill at the koto and also received acclaim for his compositions. He was married to
Kazue Sawai is a Japanese '' koto'' player noted for her performance of contemporary classical music and free improvisation.
She began studying, at the age of eight, with Michio Miyagi. She later graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and ...
, also a koto player, and their son Hikaru Sawai is also a musician.
Born in Aichi Prefecture, Sawai graduated from the
Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...
in 1958.
Sawai worked with a number of Western musicians, including
Wadada Leo Smith
Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Free ...
and also released a CD of himself playing Jazzy Bach on the Koto.
Sawai also invented a Koto of his own also called as the Tadao koto which also creates good sounds.
Discography
''J.S. Bach Is Alive and Well and Doing His Thing on the Koto'', Sawai (first koto),
Kazue Sawai is a Japanese '' koto'' player noted for her performance of contemporary classical music and free improvisation.
She began studying, at the age of eight, with Michio Miyagi. She later graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and ...