Ganryu Island (album)

Ganryu Island
Studio album by John Zorn
Released 1985 & 1998
Recorded November 23, 1984
Genre Avant-garde
Length 43:03
Label Yukon, Tzadik
Producer John Zorn
John Zorn chronology

The Classic Guide to Strategy
(1983)		 Ganryu Island
(1985)		 Voodoo
(1986)

Ganryu Island is an album by John Zorn featuring improvisations with Sato Michihiro. 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.[1]

The album is titled after Ganryujima, a small island off the coast of Japan 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".[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]

Track listing

  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 Bonus track on CD
  9. "Giri" - 5:29 Bonus track on CD
  10. "Yonaka No Hatashiai" - 2:07 Bonus track on CD
  11. "Uma No Koku" - 2:39 Bonus track on CD
  12. "Tsugaru Bushido" - 4:33 Bonus track on CD
All compositions by John Zorn and Satoh Michihiro
  • Recorded in New York City on November 23, 1984

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Tzadik catalogue
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Layne, J. Almusic Review accessed July 22, 2011