MARK IZU RELEASES NAVARASA CD — SATURDAY, MAY 29
May 4th, 2010 | Published in _
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Nicole Hsiang at (415) 221-0601. email: aokizu@firstvoice.org
http://www.markizu.com
NAVARASA: 9 Emotions, 2 Musicians, 1 Captivating CD…
Belly to Belly Records proudly announces the release of Navarasa, featuring the ground-breaking sounds of award-winning Asian Jazz composer Mark Izu playing contra bass, sheng and sho, and Christopher Yohmei Blasdel playing shakuhachi.
Christopher Yohmei Blasdel is an American who has lived most of his life in Japan studying Japanese music, and Mark Izu, a Japanese American who has spent his life on the American west coast as a jazz artist and composer studying Gagaku (Japanese Court Music).
This CD is based on the navarasa expressed through a combination of shakuhachi, bass, and mouth organ (the Chinese sheng and Japanese shô). The music is mostly improvised, based on the various rasa themes.
The Sanskrit word rasa literally means “juice” or “essence” and refers to the essential human emotional states—that “juice” which comprises our feelings. The Hindu concept of Navarasa, or nine rasa, dates from around the tenth century and elucidates nine basic emotions universal around the world; love, joy, wonder, peace, anger, courage, sadness, fear and disgust. The rasa are one’s reaction to external stimuli—the forces of the soul manifesting themselves in exuberant expression to the outside world. Each rasa expresses a particular feeling, and a person is composed of the total of these emotions. The big question is, however, how much can one be aware of their own emotions and the power they hold over our lives? The answer lies in how the rasa is used. To create the perfect rasa juice, one must cultivate discipline, hard work, & humility; living each rasa to its fullest without ever losing oneself to any one emotion.
Japanese music has roots in India, so the artists decided to pay homage to the beginnings by using the concept of the navarasa for inspiration.
Listen to sound samples from Navarasa
More information about Christopher Yohmei Blasdel
Contact Associate Producer Nicole Hsiang Nicole.hsiang@gmail.com for more information, or visit www.markizu.com.
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