Michiyo Yagi Koto Power Trio

Pit InnMichiyo Yagi  -- electric 21-string koto, 17-string bass kotoJim O’Rourke – electric guitarTamaya Honda – drumsThis intense trio plays straight on for a half hour at one go without the least slack. The intensity is striking, first of all, and then it dawns on you, she’s playing one of the most traditional Japanese instruments of all! You can feel her koto teachers rolling over in their graves, but the result is music that vibrates with passion. A trio like this one destabilizes all expectations from the first ‘notes’ and then takes you to brand new places.The trio has an otherworldly sound, but one that derives from an earthy sensibility. If that sounds like a conundrum, that’s because electric guitar, drum and koto encompass a huge swath of sound and musical sensibility. The instruments go together marvelously well, like the meeting of three musical worlds, or really, three boats riding the waves of musical energy—creating raw, fresh sounds..The koto seems the most unlikely instrument for a brash, improvisatory trio, but there lies the challenge to which Yagi rises. Set against electric guitar and drums, the koto sounds fresh and honest. Yagi calls this a ‘power trio’, but they draw less from hard rock than from sheer muscularity and carnal energy. Working with rhythm, harmony and melody all at once, the koto is a band in itself, and the way the trio weaves their sounds together, each one amplifies the others. Each of these musicians has masses of power, but they use it with the care of a martial arts instructor. You never get hurt, but you sense that you could!Yagi sang one song, an original called "Izayoi," inspired by Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood." Her singing has plenty of traditional ‘jiuta’ accents, but the voice and direction is all her own. As if sung by Shinto goddesses, her voice, with koto humming below her, was sharp, nasal, and very, very cool. Maybe an entire CD of her singing is in the line-up? Let’s hope. Unleashed from traditional techniques and mindsets, Yagi makes the koto an expression of inner worlds and far-flung musical travels. Honda and O’Rourke were waiting at every turn to bounce a reply back to tradition and make something delightfully special. The sound is less about refusing categories than it is about shaping a fullness and freshness of musical experience. Yagi’s Koto Power Trio’s blend of free jazz, symphonic richness and straight-on energy is unlike any other.