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Japanese Jukebox: Dozan Fujiwara

by David Simoneaux
on September 8th, 2011 9:41 AM

Dozan Fujiwara rocks the shakuhachi flute. What? That’s the Japanese end blown flute. Fujiwara is like the Kenny G of shakuhachi. It’s a beautiful sound, and he’s like the best in the business. Check it out:

It’s an amazing sound, especially with such a spiritual classic like “Amazing Grace.” It easily qualifies as Zen music. Hearing Fujiwara’s solo stuff is inspiring, and it makes sense that other artists want to work with him. In fact, he often sounds best working with others.

That mystic quest video was for the track “Japanese Spirit” featuring Dozan Fujiwara and Isao Tomita. You can find this on the duo’s 2008 album Kyo on iTunes. While this is an older album, Fujiwara’s latest album reunites him with his group side project: Kobudo.

Kobudo consists of Fujiwara on flute, Nobuo Furukawa on Cello and Takeshi Senoo on Piano. They have released 3 previous albums, but for their fourth they are inviting a few friends. The new album entitled Itsukushimi incorporates some notable famous female singers. Vocalists include Michiko Hayashi, Miki Imai, the lovely Ayano Uema, and more.

Check out a sample of Kobudo and Ayano Uema:

Simply beautiful. Fujiwara is truly a master of the shakuhachi flute. If you want to hear even more of Fujiwara’s flute work, he also released a 2-disc tenth anniversary greatest hits album Ten in 2010.