Keiko Abe, Walter Van Hauwe
Imagination
Denon (Japan) 1985
OF-7163-ND (LP) w/obi, insert.
sleeve : EX(very slightly dirts)
media : EX/EX(some slightly noise)
A 1985 release featuring Keiko Abe, the world-renowned marimba player who first came to prominence in the 1960s and, alongside her solo work, also performed with ensembles such as the Tokyo Quintet and The New Percussion Group of Amsterdam, here in collaboration with German flutist Walter Van Hauwe. The program draws on Japanese folk songs including “Itsuki no Komoriuta” and “Karihoboshi Kiriuta,” John Dowland’s “Lachrimae Pavan,” as well as original pieces by Abe and Van Hauwe, but as the subtitle suggests, these familiar sources serve as frameworks for highly inventive improvisation. A1 is especially striking for the sheer depth of the marimba’s low-end vibration, and throughout the album Abe’s playing is remarkable for the way it pushes the instrument’s possibilities to the limit. Highly recommended. One that rarely turns up.
A1: Lullaby of Itsuki (Japanese Folk Song)
A3: Lullaby of Shimabara
B4: Torrent