Michiyo Yagi | Profile Michiyo Yagi is a pioneering koto player who is highly regarded in both traditional and avant-garde circles. She was born in Tokoname, in Aichi prefecture, and began studying koto at the age of six under Satomi Kurauchi. She later was admitted to the main branch of the Sawai Koto School. She also enrolled in other courses and in addition to koto studying shamisen and traditional jiuta-style singing. After graduating from Sawai in 1987, she was the recipient of a Japan Foundation Grant which took her on a 12 date concert tour with stops in Southeast Asia and Europe. This was the first of many tours she has done as an ambassador of Japanese traditional arts. In 1989 she served a Visiting Professor of Japanese traditional music at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Around this time she became increasingly interested in modern music by American composers such as John Cage and John Zorn. She began performing more modern works and in 1989, 1990 and 1992 performed at New York’s Bang on a Can music festival. She simultaneously remained an active member of the Kazue Sawai Koto Ensemble, and in 1991 did a tour of Russia with them. She sometimes played in jazz oriented contexts, and in 1992 played at the Blue Note in New York. In 1993 Michiyo did performances with the Korean dancers Iris Park and Du-yee Chang in New York and with the Min-on Ensemble, toured five cities of India. Performing in various groups and solo she has toured extensively in Europe and North America, and appeared a number of times on Japanese TV. While Yagi has played as a member or guest with many different groups, she has recorded primarily with Paulownia Crash (a koto ensemble which she leads), Koto Vortex (an ensemble founded in 1994 that performs modern works), Hoahio (with guitarist/singer Haco and sampler player Sachiko M - they have released three albums on Tzadik), Kokoo ( with shakuhachi player Akikazu Nakamura and fellow koto player Maki Isogai) and with Otomo Yoshihide. She also released the solo album Shizuka in 1998 on John Zorn’s Tzadik label. She has also recorded as a guest soloist with artists ranging from New York avant-garde player Elliott Sharp to Japan’s super idol Ayumi Hamasaki. She has also performed live a number of times with traditionally trained Chinese musicians. Outside of Japan she is primarily known for her work with avant-garde and jazz players, including many of the best known names in this realm such as Bill Laswell, Billy Bang, Peter Brotzmann, Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins), John Zorn, Zeena Parkins, and Eugene Chadbourne. by Keith Cahoon
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