With "Kyoto Mon Amour", drummer and composer Eric Schaefer dares to build a bridge between Western and Japanese music. The foundation for this project was laid in 2012 during a three-month study visit by Schaefer to the ancient imperial city of Kyoto. There he gathered rich impressions that were reflected in sound ideas and compositions. What was finally missing were the right accompanists. Schaefer: "When I heard Kazutoki Umezu playing his clarinet in a radio broadcast, I knew that this was the sound I was looking for: soft, pliable like bamboo, yet penetrating and clear. I really wanted to have Naoko Kikuchi with me, because on the one hand she is deeply rooted in the Japanese koto tradition, and on the other hand she moved to Germany eight years ago to play contemporary European art music with the Ensemble Modern. John Eckhardt, with whom I have been playing for years, is also at home in new music. His earthy and colourful playing fuses elements of chamber music, traditional music and jazz. The musical openness and interest in each other's cultures is what is so exciting about this band."
Music improvised from both Japanese and European points of view, yet resulting in something entirely new: something absolutely fascinating, between tradition and avant-garde, between the familiar and the unheard, between simplicity and richness.
Text source and more information about this event: https://www.brotfabrik.de/index.php?id=25&month=9&year=2018
