Ganryu Island
Studio album by
Released1985
1998 (Re-Release)
RecordedRadio City Studio on November 23, 1984[1]
GenreAvant-garde
Length75:24
LabelYukon
Tzadik (Re-Release)
ProducerJohn Zorn
John Zorn chronology
The Classic Guide to Strategy
(1983)
Ganryu Island
(1985)
Voodoo
(1986)

Ganryu Island is an collaborative album by John Zorn and Michihiro Sato. The album was first released on vinyl LP on Yukon Records in 1984 and later re-released on Tzadik Records as a CD with five additional tracks in 1998.[2]

The album is titled after Ganryujima, a small island in the Strait of Shimonoseki where legendary samurai warriors Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro engaged in battle.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Joslyn Layne awarded the album 4 stars stating "The great, no-holds-barred improvisation is by no means an inchoate whirl -- indeed, the shamisen's rhythmic presence often provides a steady, but flexible structure for the duo's truly imaginative interaction".[3]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz observed "listening to Ganryu Island is like panning for gold: seeming eternities spent lodging through muddy dross in order to turn up a few moments of pure gold. By the oddest perversity, the very best tracks seem to be those which were excluded from the venial release".[4]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[4]

Track listing

All compositions by John Zorn and Satoh Michihiro

No.TitleLength
1."Ryukyu Heishi"6:12
2."Haguregumo"14:14
3."Two Ronin"3:53
4."Kagemusha"10:37
5."Odori Dayu"5:31
6."Ganryu Island"11:11
7."Yoshiwara Kaidan"3:27
8."Natsu Matsuri"5:31
9."Giri"5:29
10."Yonaka No Hatashiai"2:07
11."Uma No Koku"2:39
12."Tsugaru Bushido"4:33

Personnel

References

  1. Discogs
  2. Tzadik catalogue
  3. 1 2 Layne, J. Almusic Review accessed July 22, 2011
  4. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2000). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (5th ed.). Penguin. p. 1613. ISBN 0-14-051452-X.
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