Press play to listen:
"Hitori" Part1: Intro
"Hitori" Part 2: Groove
A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Goh Kurosawa. He was performing down at the famous Santa Monica Promende and had drawn quite a huge crowd. If I can recall, he was playing solo flamenco guitar or a mandolin or some other sexy instrument with strings. But, the guy was mesmerizing and I knew I had to book him for an Acoustic Fuel show.
He played that guitar like a piano and even beat on it like a drum! He made full use of what he had to work with and then some. I've never heard so many notes coming from an instrument like that - and all the while he was as calm as a cucumber, very mellow, very chill, but very ENTERTAINING! The music was so relaxing and definitely inspiring.
Over the years, we stayed in contact over the email. And finally our paths crossed again and I got the opportunity to interview him before he went on tour overseas. Here is a part of our conversation...
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Enterprise: Tell me about your background in music.
Goh: Both my mother and grandmother used to teach music in school in Japan. My first instrument other than my voice was the piano. During high school I took the roll of the director/conductor for a guitar & mandolin orchestra, and then finally came to the guitar to learn how to produce a beautiful sound out of the instrument just as I began my studies as an undergraduate. It was during this early stage with the guitar that I also became fascinated with the improvisational aspect of jazz and flamenco of Spain. However the underlying inspiration of my music comes from Asia where it all started for me first.
Enterprise: How long have you been playing?
Goh: I have been playing guitar for a little over ten years.
Enterprise: What are some of your earliest memories of music?
Goh: Perhaps my mother's voice.
Enterpise: Who are some of your inspirations?
Goh: Musicians (such as Egberto Gismonti, Astor Piazzola, J.S. Bach, Paco De Lucia), family, friends, and people in general.
Enterprise: Explain the power of music.
Goh: This is different for each of us, and is very personal. Although the power is not tangible, it has the possibility of moving us in the deepest manner just like the words of a well written poem.
Enterprise: Describe the type of music you do.
Goh: "A unique blend of jazz, rock, Western classical music, infused
with Asian soundscapes alongside Balkan rhythms."
Enterprise: Explain the type of effect you have on your listeners at a gig.
Goh: This depends on the event quite a bit. I do not have a set program, and there is much improvisation that takes part in the creative process. However, one thing I always make effort to do is to give something to the audience that they will be able to take back with them. We go out, and we come to be a part of the experience in hope to receive positive energy in return.
Enterprise: What is your mission as a musician?
Goh: To remind myself and others of the beautiful things about our blue globe. A good example coming from me would be long black hair of a Japanese Beauty, which may be quite strenuous to find these days; however not impossible because they are still out there.
Enterprise: What is the story behind "Hitori"?
Goh: In 2005, I was invited to an international festival in Mexico where I was initially expecting to go to with my brother, Kai Kurosawa (Warr & bass guitarist), who performs with me in Sharp Three (www.sharpthree.com). When I found out that the festival was only going to have me "alone" (or, "hitori" in Japanese) rather than the two of us, I decided that I needed a solo guitar work that was going to be lively, exciting, and most importantly groovy without the help and support of my brother who is a groove machine, or anyone else but myself alone.
Enterprise: What's next for Goh Kurosawa?
Goh: This March/April '07, I will be doing my first solo tour of Japan & Taiwan. Let me have fun with that first, and then I will move on to the next.
For more information on Goh, you can visit him on the web at www.happysad.org/goh.
