Music Jan 2, 2019
Sho player Ko Ishikawa pushes the boundaries of gagaku with free improvisation
by Katherine Whatley
Ko Ishikawa plays the sho, a bamboo free-reed mouth harp that first came to Japan from China in the Nara Period (710-794). Despite what you might expect, however, the way he plays the instrument isn't conventionally traditional. The sho is used in gagaku, a style ...