A mix of traditional honkyoku and new compositions for the Japanese bamboo flute, shakuhachi. This recording was made for a friend of mine as a demo recording in 2014, but I have found some of these recording to have a bit of saliency overall and I decided to release them as they are. I used both jiari and jinashi shakuhachi for this recording.
Thank you to my teachers, and my teachers' teachers. Thank you to the mountain creek, the wind in the pine needles, and for the quiet steps of the unfolding landscape, within and without, dharmakaya.
Descending Clouds (Doherty, 2012) - This piece was originally an improvisation that I performed and recorded while watching a storm come down from Pikes Peak and into the mountains above Manitou Springs, Colorado. Performed on a 1.8 jiari shakuhachi
Original Song of the Blue Dragon (Traditionally known as Honshirabe) - Performed on a self-made 2.3 shakuhachi, this is a traditional honkyoku in the tradition of Watasumi Doso Roshi, famed jinashi and Zen Master. The name used here refers to a koan and Dharma talk given by John Daido Loori from Koans on the Way of Reality, compiled by Daido, case 103, whose verse states:
Each crisis, an opportunity,
Yet if you fail to act, you miss it by a thousand miles.
The cave of the Blue Dragon is ominous.
Only the fearless dare to enter.
It is here that the forest of patterns is clearly revealed,
The myriad forms evident.
It is here that the one bright pearl is hidden.
More here:
www.mountainrecord.org/teachings/the-stone-lion/
Murasakino Kyoku (traditional shakuhachi Honkyoku, known as Murasaki Reibo, historically attributed to the Zen Master and poet, Ikkyu) - After Izumi Takeo’s performance of this piece as a folk tune, which, knowing its history, feels more appropriate than the somber and measured manner in which Murasaki Reibo is generally performed today. Performed on a 2.0 jiari, vintage shakuhachi.
Sanya | Three Valleys (traditional honkyoku) - Performed on a self-made (Blue Cloud Mountain) jinashi 2.4 shakuhachi, this performance is rooted in a sense of freedom of technique and being with the piece that comes from my own struggle with the shakuhachi tradition. It largely exhibits the lineage in which I sit, but infused with non-traditional elements.
Dry Landscape (Doherty, 2014) - A minimal composition for solo shakuhachi. Delicate and sparse. Performed on a self-made 2.7 jinashi flute. This piece recalls the simplicity of Japanese rock gardens as proportional nuanced elements work with the larger structure of the piece to evoke a spaciousness and landscape that points beyond.
Two Peaks (Doherty, 2014) - This piece was composed with the idea of a communion of natural elements, two mountains arriving at the banks of a river, for a conversation about their relationship. There is a dialogue in the piece - performed on a self-made (Blue Cloud Mountain) 2.4 jinashi shakuhachi.
Hanshan Cho (Doherty 2013) - This original work recalls the poetry and spirit of Hanshan, Cold Mountain - a hermit monk poet from Chinese, Chan, Buddhism- the precursor to Zen in Japan. Performed on a vintage instrument.
Remastered December 2020
released December 19, 2020