Shakuhachi players seek shamisen for Japanese mambo

Share Your Music
#1

Hi, guys.

A while back, I asked my composer friend to write a piece for shakuhachi using Latin rhythms. The idea was to give my parents, both born and raised in Puerto Rico, the chance to hear me playing something they could recognize and appreciate.

My friend, Barry Seroff, came through in spades. The piece is called “Su Inocencia, Perdida en la Pista de Baile (Her Innocence, Lost on the Dance Floor).” The only problem is, in order to get that rhythmic push-pull, he conceived it as a quartet for 2 shakuhachi, koto and shamisen. The shamisen part is very straightforward, ideal for a shamisen doubler.

Here are some links:
www.barryseroff.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NuEGQ0VfQU (That’s me playing a traditional piece.)

If there is any shamisen player in the NYC area interested, let me know and I’ll send you scores (shamisen and full ensemble) and a MIDI. If anyone reading this knows of a player who might be interested, forwarding the post would be much appreciated. There’d be some remuneration involved (but not professional level, because we just don’t have the funds).

That’s all. Thanks for reading.

Oh, if you’re in the area, let’s get together and play something!- David

#2

I’d like to see the score and hear the mp3. I’m in Toronto, so a trip to New York is not out of the question, but I can’t say when that might happen.

As a side note, did you know that ‘mambo’ was THE big youth craze in Japan just before rock and roll hit? Here are a few links, all by Yukimura Izumi, though there were other artists doing latin-tinged pops at the time:

“Mambo Italiano” (a cover of the American hit):

“Yume no Mambo” (“Dream Mambo” - an original):

And here she is doing a sake commercial:

There’s a lot of great pop music from the early post-war period. Disappear down the YouTube rabbit hole for an with with Yukimura Izumi for a taste of this era’s pop, and check out Eri Chiemi and the Tokyo Cuban Boys as well.

© 2020 Kyle Abbott