Yasuaki Shimizu & Saxophonettes live
English translation of the Nikkei review of the Goldberg Variations concert (MEDIA 23.4.2010)

Classic Club
NHK BS2
Revel once more in the sumptuous glory of Yasuaki Shimizu & Saxophonettes Goldberg Variations, recorded at Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo, February 27.

Repeat broadcast: 8 June (Tue) 10–10:55am NHK BS2
www.nhk.or.jp/classic/club/

Performance
2010, photos from Fashion Cantata 2010
2010, photos from Goldberg Variations

Furusato (Hometown): World Heritage sites filmed from outer space
Music for 3D movie, premieres April 24
The new 360 degrees film Furusato, with music direction and composition by Shimizu, will screen at the Dome Theater GAIA at Tokyo's Odaiba from Saturday, April 24 until further notice. With a 7.1 channel sound system and 3D visuals, this is a sensory experience not to be missed. The film will tour Warner Mycal Cinemas nationally as a 3D roadshow from June 19. Check back here for further details!

Showtime: 1pm (additional 5pm shows May 1–5)
Running time: 37 minutes
Dome Theater GAIA
(The theater is inside the Miraikan – the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation)
2-3-6 Aomi, Koto, Tokyo (5 min walk from Fune no Kagakukan Station, Yurikamome Line)
For details, visit: www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/en/ or phone: 03-3570-9151

Otoko no Kakureya
YS interview
Shimizu appears in “Otoko no Shosai” (Men's Studios), the series by writer Satoru Udagawa, who visits artists active in different fields to see their work, pastimes, ways of relaxation and lifestyles. About Shimizu he wonders, what prompted this artist to move recently from central Tokyo to the seaside?

26 April, June issue (in Japanese)
Global Planet

HiVision Classic Club
NHK BS programming
Yasuaki Shimizu & Saxophonettes Goldberg Variations concert special.
As Shimizu and his band took their bows to thundering applause on 27 February at Sumida Triphony Hall, NHK committed to a special broadcast of that breakthrough performance. A must-see!

Broadcast: 5 April (Mon) 6–6:55am NHK BS-Hi
www.nhk.or.jp/bsclassic/index.html

Tokyo Rotation 4
Another in bassist/producer Bill Laswell's Tokyo Rotation concert series will find Shimizu ready to spin out more excitement than ever. Photos and videos from last year's show are up on the official site. Have a look! www.tokyorotation.com

Musicians: Bill Laswell (bass), Yasuaki Shimizu (tenor sax), Hideo Yamaki (drums), DJ Yama,
Hoppy Kamiyama (kaos, 1st set only), Akira Sakata (alto sax/clarinet, 2nd set only)

7 May (Fri)
1st set: 8pm (doors open 7:30pm) / 2nd set: 10pm (doors open 9:30pm)
Shinjuku Pit Inn, Accord Bldg. B1, 2-12-4 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

5,000 yen in advance, 5,500 yen at the door; both sets 9,000 yen (reservations accepted at venue only). Includes one drink. Entrance by ticket number.
Tickets: Pia 0570-02-9999, Shinjuku Pit Inn 03-3354-2024
For more information, contact Shinjuku Pit Inn 03-3354-2024
www.pit-inn.com

Tilman: New Works
Objects and works on paper
The artist Tilman has been one of my friends since the 1980s in Paris, and this is his first solo show in Japan. It’s an absolute must-see for me.

April 3 (Sat) – April 10 (Sat) 1pm–7pm
Concept Space, 309-8 Ishihara, Shibukawa, Gunma (10 min. walk from JR Shibukawa Station)

For info, please call: 090-8582-0414
www.conceptspace.jp

Tokyo Performing Arts Market 2010
Yasuaki Shimizu and Keiichiro Shibuya
International Showcase/Music Showcase appearance
Susumu Kunisaki, Editor in Chief of music magazine Sound & Recording, and now Acting Director of the Music Showcase, presents Shimizu in concert with pianist Keiichiro Shibuya. For their first meeting, they will hold a “reverberation session” at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space. Saxophone and piano sounds will be digitally processed and their echo components played back through the theater’s multichannel audio system. A unique opportunity to experience the interactive acoustic spaces that arise from the meeting of live and residual saxophone and piano sound waves.

Monday, 1 March, 7pm
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space Medium Hall
1-8-1 Nishi-Ikebukuro (3 min. walk from Ikebukuro Station, West Exit)

Information: Tokyo Performing Arts Market 2010
Tel: 03-5724-4660 / Fax: 03-5724-4661
www.tpam.or.jp/e-index.html

J. S. Bach's Goldberg Variations
Yasuaki Shimizu & Saxophonettes concert 27 February
The clock’s ticking down for Yasuaki Shimizu & Saxophonettes’ world premiere of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, arranged by Shimizu for five saxophones and four contrabasses. This concert is presented by Tokyo’s Sumida Triphony Hall as one in its annual series of commissions dedicated to Bach’s extraordinary composition. Both faithful to the original and divergent where Shimizu has seen fit, the performance promises to be–like Shimizu’s world-first Cello Suites arrangements for tenor saxophone–both a historic event and a genuine celebration of Bach’s unparalleled inventiveness and joy. Booking details below.

YS discusses re-arranging the Goldberg Variations
Notes from arts critic Hidekuni Maejima

Yasuaki Shimizu (tenor saxophone)
Ryoko Egawa, Hirokazu Hayashida (soprano, alto saxophones)
Ryota Higashi (baritone saxophone)
Hiroshi Suzuki (alto, tenor, baritone saxophones)
Daisuke Sasaki, Atsushi Kuramochi, Kenji Oishi, Masayuki Kimura (contrabass)

Saturday, 27 February, 6pm (doors open 5:30pm)
Sumida Triphony Hall, Kinshi 1-2-3, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (5 min. from Kinshicho Station, JR / Tokyo Metro)

Prices: S seats 5,000yen, A seats 4,000yen, B seats 3,000yen
Ticket now on sale: Triphony Hall ticket center 03-5608-1212, Pia 0570-02-9999 (P code 336-144),
Tokyo Bunka Kaikan ticket service 03-5685-0650, Plankton 03-3498-2881, e+ (e-plus)

www.triphony.com

Open rehearsal: now accepting audience for 15 February
Share in a bit of the excitement in advance of the February 27 premiere! Attend the "open rehearsal" and get an early experience of Shimizu's Goldberg.

Monday, 15 February, rehearsal 2–3pm (doors open 1:45pm)
Sumida Triphony Hall, main hall
Application form: http://triphony.mcsdesigns.jp/topics/mailform.php
Deadline: Friday, 12 February, 6pm

For further information, please contact: Triphony Hall ticket center 03-5608-1212
*Selected invitees will be able to sit in on an ordinary rehearsal for the upcoming February 27 Goldberg Variations concert. Please bear in mind that this will not be a full concert; performances will likely be partially abbreviated.
*Seating is limited, so apply early.

YouTube
Rehearsal session online
A brief sample of the first Goldberg rehearsal with four contrabassists.
Recorded 15 February 2010

Yasuaki Shimizu & Saxophonettes - Goldberg Variations rehearsal 2
http://www.youtube.com/satetoartists

RealTokyo
Online interview
Shimizu talks with metropolitan culture web magazine RealTokyo on their "Dialogue Garden" section featuring Tokyo artists' news and views. He'll discuss recent developments with the Saxophonettes and the Goldberg Variations.

Click here for English translation

Interviewer: Keizo Maeda
"Dialogue Garden" 4 February, vol. 12 (in Japanese)

Barakan Morning
Live on radio
Shimizu will appear on music critic/commentator Peter Barakan's radio program Barakan Morning, just two weeks ahead of the Triphony Hall concert. Be sure to listen in for the latest word on the new Goldberg arrangement. Shimizu will also give a brief live performance.

Presenters: Peter Barakan, Maki Yanai
Broadcast: Friday, 19 February, 7–11am InterFM 76.1MHz (in Japanese)
*YS to appear from around 9am
www.interfm.co.jp/barakan/

YS interviews
Goldberg Variations concert advance press
(in Japanese unless otherwise noted)

The Japan Times
19 February (in English)

The Yomiuri Shimbun
30 January, evening edition

The Asahi Shimbun
25 January, evening edition

Goethe
25 January, March issue, Vol. 48
Gentosha

Mostly Classic
20 January, March issue, Vol. 154
Sankei Sinbunsha

Ongaku no Tomo
18 January, February issue
Ongaku no Tomosha

Bravo
18 January, February issue
Tokyo MDE

Intoxicate
Back issue
Tower Records
Intoxicate

Trance World Music Ways
Guest appearance on PCM digital radio program
Shimizu appears on Trance World Music Ways hosted by Midori Tanaka, to chat about his upcoming 27 February premiere of the Bach Goldberg Variations for saxophone and contrabass, at Sumida Triphony Hall.
Listeners will also be treated to a sneak preview of this world-first arrangement when Shimizu plays a short Aria from the work.

Broadcast schedule:
Saturday, 23 January, 5-6am  Sendai FM
Sunday, 24 January, 4-5am  Shizuoka FM
Sunday, 24 January, 10-11am  Music Bird*  Cross Culture channel 11-1
*PCM reception requires a special tuner and antenna

Grab the Earth! vol. 3
Maia Barouh live with Shing02 (Waikyoku Band) at Daikanyama UNIT
It’s often said that imagination is what makes us human,
And Maia's imagination is something else!
It just builds and builds . . . the Dubai Tower can't even compete!
Let's all go listen! (YS)

Wednesday, 25 February, 7:30pm (doors open 7pm)
UNIT Daikanyama, Tokyo

3,000 yen in advance / 3,500 yen at the door
Tickets: Pia 0570-02-9999 (P code: 343-432), Lawson Ticket 0570-08-4003 (L code: 78886), e-plus
UNIT 03-5459-8630

www.unit-tokyo.com
Live netcast on: www.maia-zoku.com

FPM
Song included on new Fantastic Plastic Machine album now on sale
Included on the new Fantastic Plastic Machine album FPM is Shimizu’s tenor saxophone steaming its way through the insanely infectious re-take of Franz Liszt’s "Liebesträume No.3" titled "Ai no Yume" by master producer/remixer (Mr Fantastic Plastic himself) Tomoyuki Tanaka. This mix was the original soundtrack for the first Uniqlo blog/calendar webpage (see Archives 2009/Performance 25 June).

Release: 23 December 2009
avex trax AVCD-23966