Stomu Yamash'ta -

Stomu Yamash’ta — 山下勉 (born March 15, 1947) — is a Japanese classical/jazz-rock percussionist, keyboardist, composer, and bandleader best known globally for his 1973–77 projects East Wind and Go, which produced two albums each on Island Records.

Background

He was born Tsutomu Yamashita in Kyoto, Japan, on March 15, 1947. At age 13, he enrolled at the Kyoto Academy of Music and played percussion in the Kyoto Philharmonic, conducted by his father. He furthered his studies at Kyoto University and in the US at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City and the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

During the 1960s, he performed under Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, American conductor Thor Johnson, and German composer Hans Werner Henze. In 1969, he altered his name to its western phonetic translation Stomu Yamash’ta. That year, he drew a five-minute standing ovation for his performance with Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

In 1971, Yamash’ta started the Red Buddha Theatre in Japan and served as its producer, director, and composer. The following year, he brought the troupe to Europe for extended engagements in Paris and London.

Red Buddha

Stomu Yamash’ta released Red Buddha in 1971 in Japan on King Records.

Yamash’ta builds the album from struck metal, skin resonance, bowed overtones, and tuned percussion. Each side unfolds as a written long-form piece whose motion passes through drone, clangor, and ritual repetition.

“Red Buddha” starts with sparse drum taps and isolated metallic color, then thickens into a harder field of clatter and sustained overtones before the closing return to a quieter surface. “As Expanding As” opens with slower hypnotic figures, drops wood block, steel drum, and marimba accents into wider silence, then rises to a sharper crest before the last retreat into space.

A1. “Red Buddha” (15:19)
B1. “As Expanding As” (15:55)

Yamash’ta recorded Red Buddha in Tokyo across April 11, 12, and 14, 1971. He wrote and arranged both pieces. He also handled the full percussion setup, which sources list as metal strings, cymbal, musical saw, mandolin harp, steel drum, marimba, cow bell, wood block, and skin drum.

The original Japanese LP appeared in gatefold form with liner notes by Hikaru Hayashi and a mounted score insert. Later editions followed in the UK, the US, and France.

Floating Music

Stomu Yamash’ta and Come To The Edge released Floating Music in October 1972 on Island’s Help label. The album carries three Yamash’ta compositions and “Xingu,” which Morris Pert wrote.

Yamash’ta sets bells, struck metal, hand percussion, and tuned resonance against Morris Pert’s drum attack. Robin Thompson and Peter Robinson spread electric piano, organ, and soprano sax across bass lines from Phil Plant and Andrew Powell. Side one holds to a patient pulse. Side two opens the ensemble into longer live passages with harder accents.

“Poker Dice” begins with chimes and vibraphone in a slow haze, then bass and drums lock the piece into a firmer current before louder percussion and electric-piano exchanges thicken the middle stretch. “Keep In Lane” throws raw vocal cries and brass stabs across pounding drums and throbbing bass. “Xingu” starts with broken drum patterns and avant horn color, then gives way to echoing electric piano and a brighter ensemble return after the central percussion swell. “One Way” opens with sho and relaxed percussion, settles into sparse vibraphone and bass, then gathers force through repeated metallic collisions near the close.

A1. “Poker Dice” (17:55)
A2. “Keep In Lane” (8:38)
B1. “Xingu” (13:09) — Morris Pert
B2. “One Way” (11:50)

Yamash’ta recorded side one at Island Studios in London with Come To The Edge. He cut side two live at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, on January 10, 1972. Contemporary discographies credit him as the album’s producer.

The original LP appeared in Japan on King as SLC-423 and in the UK as Island HELP 12. UK copies came in a gatefold sleeve. The Japanese issue used an original print by Gakutei and carried a four-page insert.

Freedom Is Frightening

Stomu Yamash’ta’s East Wind released Freedom Is Frightening in 1973 on Island.

Yamash’ta drives the album with kit percussion and hard accents. Guitarist Gary Boyle threads electric and acoustic lines through Hugh Hopper’s bass figures while keyboardist Brian Gascoigne layers organ, synthesizer, and vibraphone around Hisako Yamash’ta’s violin. Each piece passes from suspended openings into heavier ensemble force, then eases toward thinner textures.

“Freedom Is Frightening” opens with rising organ and wavering synthesizer, then draws bass, guitar, and percussion into a slow march that thickens bar by bar. “Rolling Nuns” rides Hopper’s fuzzed bass pulse under sharper guitar and keyboard figures before the arrangement strips down to hand percussion and wordless voices. “Pine On The Horizon” puts Yamash’ta’s percussion at the front, then turns through open organ breaks and harder guitar runs. “Wind Words” lowers the pressure with bowed violin, vibraphone shimmer, quiet organ, and clean guitar lines.

A1. “Freedom Is Frightening” (8:48)
A2. “Rolling Nuns” (7:06)
B1. “Pine On The Horizon” (11:44)
B2. “Wind Words” (6:43).

Yamash’ta recorded Freedom Is Frightening at Advision Studios in August 1973 with engineer Gary Martin. He wrote and arranged all four pieces.

Saul Bass designed the sleeve. The original UK LP carried a printed inner sleeve with a band photograph, liner notes, track listing, and credits. Mick Watts wrote the notes, and Merlin Turville-Petre supplied the inner-sleeve photograph.

The Man From the East

In 1973, Island released The Man From the East, the soundtrack album to Stomu Yamash’ta’s Red Buddha Theatre production of the same name. The original UK issue appeared as a six-track LP on Island ILPS 9228.

The Red Buddha Theatre assembled a company of young Japanese actors, dancers, and musicians around Yamash’ta’s music and direction. The Man From the East presented episodes from Japanese life, ancient and modern, real and fantastic, with accompaniment from electronic and traditional instruments. The production reached Europe in 1972, drew notice at the Avignon Festival, held a Paris run at the Carré Thorigny, then moved to the Roundhouse in London before later touring Europe and the United States.

Side one carries four pieces, with the 10-minute “What a Way to Live in Modern Times” set between three shorter cues. Side two turns to the live “Mandala,” then closes with “Memory of Hiroshima.”

A1. “Sunrise” (2:50)
A2. “My Little Friend” (4:00)
A3. “What a Way to Live in Modern Times” (10:00)
A4. “Mountain Pass” (3:35)
B1. “Mandala” (11:35)
B2. “Memory of Hiroshima” (8:40)

Yamash’ta wrote all six pieces. He recorded “What a Way to Live in Modern Times” and “Mandala” live at the Carré Thorigny Theatre in Paris on October 30, 1972, then cut the remaining four tracks at Advision Studios in London in November 1972 with engineer Gary Martin. The studio material centers on Yamash’ta, drummer Morris Pert, keyboardist Peter Robinson, and bassist Alyn Ross, with Robin Thompson on soprano saxophone for “Mountain Pass” and Gary Boyle on guitar for “Memory of Hiroshima.” The live pieces expand the cast with Hisako Yamash’ta, Joji Hirota, Hideo Funamoto, Shiro Murata, Yoshio Taeira, Goro Kunii, Mikako Takeshita, Maggie Newlands, and Phil Plant. The gatefold sleeve carried notes by Andrew Porter.

One by One

In 1974, Island released , the soundtrack to Claude Du Boc’s documentary One by One, with music by Stomu Yamash’ta and Stomu Yamash’ta’s East Wind. The original UK LP appeared as Island ILPS 9269.

Du Boc’s film follows the 1973 Formula One season across thirteen countries in Europe, Brazil, and South Africa. Stacy Keach narrates the documentary, which features racers Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Peter Revson, François Cevert, Mike Hailwood, and James Hunt. One by One closes with a dedication to drivers who died during and after that season.

Side one opens with the title suite and places “Hey Man” at its center, then turns to three shorter cues. Side two starts with “Superstar / Loxycycle” and closes with four shorter pieces, including Yamash’ta’s arrangement of Vivaldi on “Seasons.”

A1. “One by One / Hey Man / One by One Reprise” (10:43)
A2. “Black Flame” (3:30)
A3. “Rain Race” (1:30)
A4. “Tangerine Beach” (3:35)

B1. “Superstar / Loxycycle” (12:23)
B2. “Nürburgring” (2:34)
B3. “Seasons” (1:30) — Antonio Vivaldi, arranged by Yamash’ta
B4. “Accident” (1:40)
B5. “At Tangerine Beach” (2:28)

Yamash’ta recorded One by One at Olympic Studios and Island Studios in London between January and April 1974 with engineer Doug Bennett. He produced the album and wrote the score. East Wind on the main body of the soundtrack features Sammi Abu, Gary Boyle, Hisako Yamash’ta, Brian Gascoigne, Hugh Hopper, and Nigel Morris. “Superstar / Loxycycle” uses Bernie Holland, Frank Tankowski, and Mike Travis in place of Boyle and Morris.

Albion Studios designed the sleeve. Mick Rock shot the front cover, and Praxis supplied stills from the film.

Raindog

Stomu Yamash’ta released Raindog in 1975 on Island. UK copies carried catalog number ILPS 9319, and Esoteric later reissued the album on CD in 2008.

Yamash’ta drives the album with hand percussion, struck metal, and sudden changes in weight. Guitarists Gary Boyle and Tsuneo Matsumoto cut through Brian Gascoigne’s clavinet and synthesizer lines while bassist Daito Fujita and drummer Hozumi Tanaka hold the undercurrent beneath violin from Hisako Yamash’ta and vocal passages by Murray Head and Maxine Nightingale.

“33 1/3” hits with the album’s most direct beat and vocal attack. “Rainsong” sets Gascoigne’s clavinet over deep bass, “The Monks Song” opens on percussion then turns to syncopated motion under a pained Murray Head line, and “Shadows” thins the texture around violin and strings.

Yamash’ta wrote the album and Giovanni Dadomo supplied the lyrics. “Shadows” carries a separate Hisako Yamash’ta/Brian Gascoigne writing credit.

A1. “Dunes” (15:00)
A2. “33 1/3” (7:40)
B1. “Rainsong” (5:03)
B2. “The Monks Song” (6:01)
B3. “Shadows” (5:08)
B4. “Ishi” (6:59)

Yamash’ta recorded Raindog at Island Studios, Basing Street, London, with engineer Phil Brown.

Eckford/Stimpson handled the cover concept and design. Monty Coles shot the front-cover photograph, and the original LP appeared with an embossed sleeve and printed inner sleeve.

Go

On April 30, 1976, Island released Go, a collaborative effort between Stomu Yamash’ta, Steve Winwood, and Michael Shrieve. Shrieve helped bring the project together after he tracked down Yamash’ta at the end of a Santana tour. Yamash’ta then expanded that contact into a larger stage-and-studio work. Winwood entered after Traffic’s break, and Shrieve’s parallel work with Automatic Man brought Pat Thrall into the orbit. Yamash’ta also drew in Al Di Meola, Klaus Schulze, Rosko Gee, Junior Marvin, Chris West, Bernie Holland, and Paul Buckmaster.

Yamash’ta built Go as a continuous sequence of linked sections across two LP sides, with titled tracks marking internal divisions more than fully isolated songs. His percussion, timpani, and synthesizers sit at the center. Shrieve drives the larger accents from the drum kit, and Winwood places piano, organ, guitar, and lead voice against electronic layers from Schulze. Rosko Gee holds the low end while Pat Thrall, Junior Marvin, Al Di Meola, Chris West, and Bernie Holland cut across the arrangement in brief lead and rhythm passages. Paul Buckmaster enlarges selected sections with brass, woodwind, and string writing.

The opening run from “Solitude” through “Air Over” lays out a suspended atmosphere in short, connected episodes before “Crossing the Line” lands in a firmer vocal shape. “Man of Leo” and “Stellar” turn the sequence back toward instrumental transition. Side two strings “Space Theme,” “Space Requiem,” and “Space Song” into a darker central passage, then “Carnival,” “Ghost Machine,” and “Surfspin” tighten the pulse before “Time Is Here” and the Winwood-written “Winner/Loser” close the album with the clearest song forms in the set.

A1. “Solitude” (2:57)
A2. “Nature” (2:32)
A3. “Air Over” (2:32)
A4. “Crossing the Line” (4:46)
A5. “Man of Leo” (2:02)
A6. “Stellar” (2:53)
A7. “Space Theme” (3:12)
B1. “Space Requiem” (3:20)
B2. “Space Song” (2:00)
B3. “Carnival” (2:46)
B4. “Ghost Machine” (2:06)
B5. “Surfspin” (2:25)
B6. “Time Is Here” (2:46)
B7. “Winner/Loser” (4:10) — Steve Winwood

Yamash’ta recorded Go at Island Studios in Notting Hill between February 6 and 13, 1976, with Dennis McKay and Yamash’ta producing alongside Paul Buckmaster. Phill Brown and Robert Ash handled engineering. Michael Quartermain supplied the lyrics for every track except “Winner/Loser.”

Saul Bass designed the sleeve. Jim Lee shot the back-cover photograph. NASA supplied the Earth image, and Bloomfield/Travis designed the booklet. Early LP editions also carried a lyric booklet.

In the UK, Island circulated “Winner/Loser” (b/w “Crossing the Line”) as a promo-only 7-inch in 1976.

Go reached No. 60 on Billboard’s Top LPs & Tape chart. Later that year, Island issued Go … Live From Paris, a document of their June 12, 1976, performance at the Palais des Sports in Paris. For the occasion, Yamash’ta presented a shuffled sequence of the album with Di Meola, Shrieve, Schulze, Thrall, and Winwood, joined by bassist Jerome Rimson, percussionist Brother James, and singer Karen Friedman. Their setlist expands multiple numbers, including “Man of Leo” (15:30), “Time Is Here” (9:20), and “Crossing the Line” (7:50).

Go Too

Stomu Yamash’ta’s Go released Go Too in 1977 on Arista. This was the second studio album and third overall release in the Go sequence.

This lineup drops Steve Winwood and places Jess Roden and Linda Lewis at the front. Yamash’ta sets keyboards, piano, timpani, and percussion against Michael Shrieve’s drum attack while Klaus Schulze and J. Peter Robinson thicken the upper register with synthesizer and keyboards. Al Di Meola and Doni Harvey cut through Paul Jackson’s bass lines, Brother James adds hand percussion, and Paul Buckmaster spreads orchestral weight across selected passages.

“Prélude” opens with a brief electronic curtain-raiser before “Seen You Before” drops into a firmer ensemble stride. “Madness” pushes the album toward a heavier rhythmic pull, then “Mysteries of Love” slows the motion and brings Roden and Lewis into the center. “Wheels of Fortune” tightens the rhythmic weave, “Beauty” returns to a softer vocal contour, and “You and Me” restores the album’s harder pulse before “Ecliptic” closes the sequence in a shorter synthesizer coda.

A1. “Prélude” (3:10)
A2. “Seen You Before” (6:18)
A3. “Madness” (6:27)
A4. “Mysteries of Love” (6:15)
B1. “Wheels of Fortune” (5:37)
B2. “Beauty” (5:11)
B3. “You and Me” (6:59)
B4. “Ecliptic” (2:33)

Yamash’ta recorded Go Too in 1977 at Camp Colomby in New City, New York, then mixed the album at Trident Studios in London. He produced the sessions with Dennis Mackay. The album credits Yamash’ta with the music, Michael Quartermain with the lyrics, and Buckmaster with the orchestral arrangements; “Ecliptic” adds a co-composition credit for Schulze.

Original LP copies carried an inner sleeve with credits and photographs. Go Too reached No. 156 on the Billboard 200.

Iroha (Ten/Chi)

Stomu Yamash’ta released Iroha (Ten/Chi) in 1981 as a double-LP on RVC. The album opens a cycle framed around Buddhist imagery and ritual atmosphere.

Yamash’ta builds the set from temple-bell resonance, long synthesizer tones, chant-like figures, and slow ceremonial motion. The scale is broader than the earlier percussion-led records. Sustained electronics now hold the center, and the four sides move as extended meditative blocks rather than compact discrete pieces.

A-side (Ten) — “Opening,” “Chanty,” “Sutra,” “Organic Tone,” “Kyrie”
B-side (Ten) — “Shingon,” “Photone”
C-side (Chi) — “Native,” “The Autumn,” “Iroha”
D-side (Chi) — “Hannya Sutra,” “The Key,” “Infinity,” “Change of Life”

RVC issued Iroha (Ten/Chi) in a gatefold sleeve with obi and poster insert. Hiroshi Yuasa mastered the set, and the sleeve carries special thanks to Shingon Temple Toji and David Kidd.

Iroha (Sui)

RVC released Iroha (Sui) in Japan in 1982. It followed Iroha (Ten/Chi) and set the cycle’s next stage under the sign of water.

Yamash’ta narrows the scale from the double album and gives the electronics a more fluid role. He and his supporting synthesizer players shape the record with rippling figures, held bass drones, and lighter upper-register motion. The elemental program stays explicit: the titles move from “Prologue” and “Sansui” through “Water Dance,” “Suiro,” and “Water Ring.”

A1. “Prologue” (1:34)
A2. “Sansui” (5:43)
A3. “Come To River” (1:47)
A4. “Sea” (2:42)
A5. “Water Dance” (6:44)
B1. “Suiro” (5:03)
B2. “Swell” (8:01)
B3. “Serenity” (2:34)
B4. “Water Ring” (6:16)

Tomiji Iyobe handled engineering. The sleeve carried graphic design by Kazufumi Goto, and the liner notes came from Harumi Setouchi. Contemporary catalog notes also link the album to the same synthesizer-centered team heard on the first Iroha set, including Takashi Kokubo, Sen Izumi, Yukitoshi Morishige, and Hiroshi Takashima.

Tempest

In 1982, Casablanca released Tempest, the soundtrack to Paul Mazursky’s loose modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, with music by Stomu Yamashta.

Mazursky’s film follows New York architect Phillip Dimitrius after he leaves his wife and career, takes his daughter to Greece, begins an affair with a singer named Aretha, and withdraws to an isolated island before the rest of his life catches up with him. John Cassavetes plays Phillip. Gena Rowlands plays Antonia, Susan Sarandon plays Aretha, Raúl Juliá plays Kalibanos, and Molly Ringwald appears as Miranda.

The LP opens with the 10-minute “Tempest Fantasia,” then turns toward shorter instrumental and vocal cues. “Nature” and “Wind Words” connect the score to Yamash’ta’s concurrent meditative work, while “Theme From Tempest (Show Me The Magic)” gives the album its clearest song form. The set closes with Rodgers and Hart’s “Manhattan,” sung by Dinah Washington.

A1. “Tempest Fantasia” (10:14)
A2. “Nature” (4:50)
A3. “Tango” (3:37) — Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller
B1. “Theme From Tempest (Show Me The Magic)” (6:40)
B2. “Wind Words” (2:42)
B3. “Epilogue” (4:40)
B4. “Manhattan” (4:14) — Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart

Yamash’ta recorded Tempest at Media Studios in Tokyo. He arranged the score with Yoshihisa Taira, and Tomiji Iyobe handled recording engineering. Paul Mazursky supplied the liner notes.

Iroha (Ka)

RVC released Iroha (Ka) in Japan in 1983 as the third Iroha volume. The album shifts the cycle from water to fire.

Yamash’ta keeps the synthesizer-centered design and drives Ka toward denser, hotter pressure. The record leans on darker drones, deeper low-end rumble, and a more forceful sense of internal heat. Takashi Kokubo and Sen Izumi remain part of the sound world, and the title sequence — “Birth,” “Cosmic Fire,” “Destiny,” and “In The Heart” — makes the elemental program plain from the start.

A1. “Birth” (12:50)
A2. “Cosmic Fire” (6:26)
A3. “Destiny” (5:01)
B1. “In The Heart” (3:25)
B2. “Iroha Variation” (2:55)
B3. “Our Way” (6:04)
B4. “As Far As” (3:05)

Tomiji Iyobe handled engineering, and RVC issued the album with obi and insert.

Kukai

In 1984, Victor released Kukai, Stomu Yamash’ta’s soundtrack to Junya Satō’s historical film on the Buddhist monk Kūkai. The picture stars Kin’ya Kitaōji in the title role and traces Kūkai’s life and religious path across Japan, China, and the wider Buddhist world.

Yamash’ta writes the score as a compact eight-part sequence. The cue titles strip the language down to fragments — “O-N,” “Gah…,” “And,” “Touched,” “Ah…,” “Ku-Uh,” “To See,” and “Iroha” — and the sound follows that reduction with a sparse spiritual design that favors suspended tones, open space, and slow ceremonial weight. Takashi Kokubo joined the soundtrack sessions on synthesizers.

A1. “O-N”
A2. “Gah…”
A3. “And”
B1. “Touched”
B2. “Ah…”
B3. “Ku-Uh”
B4. “To See”
B5. “Iroha”

Yamash’ta repurposed half of Kukai for Sea & Sky, his 1984 studio album released on VIctor (Japan) and Kuckuck (Germany).

Sea & Sky features orchestral arrangements of Kukai cues, arranged by Paul Buckmaster and engineered by Tomiji Iyobe.

Four titles carry over directly — “And,” “Touched!,” “Ah…,” and “To See” — while “A Photon,” “Appeared,” “Time,” and “To Know” replace the remaining Kukai titles in the new sequence. Yamash’ta recorded Sea & Sky between October and December 1983 at Stomu Studio and JVC Victor Aoyama Studio, with Sen Izumi on additional synthesizers and Saul Bass on artwork.

Solar Dream, Vol. 2: Fantasy of Sanukit

Kosei released Solar Dream, Vol. 2: Fantasy of Sanukit in Japan in 1990. Some discographies list the CD as a 1995 issue, but multiple catalog sources place the original release in 1990.

By this point Yamash’ta had moved deep into sanukite-based sound. The album trades ensemble interplay for long ceremonial spans built from ringing stone tones, held electronic resonance, and slowly shifting atmospheric layers. The track titles read like a spiritual sequence, and the music follows that path through invocation, recurrence, dream imagery, and elemental stillness.

1. “Stone Circle, Earthsong – Prayers Of The Stone Path” (10:31)
2. “Mugen No Kaiki – Infinity Reincarnate” (4:47)
3. “Dream without End – Dream – Echoing Dream” (7:20)
4. “Revelation of Nature – Spirit Pond” (12:53)
5. “The Shadow Remains – Stone Circle” (15:46)

Solar Dream, Vol. 1: The Eternal Present

Kosei released Solar Dream, Vol. 1: The Eternal Present in Japan in 1993.

The first volume in the issued Solar Dream sequence expands the late meditative approach into four extended pieces. Yamash’ta sets chants, sutra reference points, and spiritual titles against long-form stone resonance and electronic drift. The largest spans hold to a slow ceremonial rise, while the shorter middle sections tighten the cycle before the 17-minute closing work.

1. “Ki Soku Kan Non / Ki Soku Kan Non” (25:01)
2. “Yorozu No Mizu / A Will” (10:39)
3. “Shinnyo No Tsuki / Return” (6:10)
4. “Ka Mi Soku Kon / Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra (Heart of Wisdom Sutra)” (17:13)

Solar Dream, Vol. 3: Peace and Love

Kosei released Solar Dream, Vol. 3: Peace and Love in Japan in 1997.

This volume narrows the program to three pieces and gives the sequence a broader arc. The 23-minute “Moonlight” holds the center. “Peace and Love” opens the disc in compact form, then “Dreaming” closes with another long contemplative span. The late Yamash’ta language remains intact: sanukite resonance, slow electronic bloom, and titles that point toward spiritual calm more than dramatic contrast.

1. “Peace and Love” (5:36)
2. “Moonlight” (23:34)
3. “Dreaming” (10:56)

A Desire of Beauty and Wonder Stone, Part 1

Sanukite Koujin released A Desire of Beauty and Wonder Stone, Part 1 in Japan in 1999.

The title makes the late aesthetic plain. Yamash’ta centers the album on wonder stone sonorities and short-to-medium forms. The pieces move with less ritual scale than the Solar Dream discs and more emphasis on distilled mood, with “Consolation,” “Dream,” and “The Shadow Remains” continuing titles and ideas from the preceding cycle.

1. “A Desire of Beauty” (2:14)
2. “Wonder Stone” (6:35)
3. “Consolation” (7:06)
4. “Dream” (7:16)
5. “Failing Light” (3:14)
6. “The Shadow Remains” (3:24)

Listen to the Future, Vol. 1

Sony Music released Listen to the Future, Vol. 1 in 2001 in Japan.

Yamash’ta enlarges the late-period palette here into a 12-track program that revisits several earlier titles and images. “Dream,” “The Shadow Remains,” and “Consolations in D major” tie the album back to the Sanukite-centered discs, while “Land of Murasakino, Kyoto,” “Moonlight in Silence,” and “Rainbow in the Mountains” place more of the program in landscape and reflective space. The shorter forms give the album a more sectional flow than the Solar Dream volumes.

1. “In the Ambience of a Smile” (4:53)
2. “Abiding Love” (3:19)
3. “Stone Wind” (2:40)
4. “Land of Murasakino, Kyoto” (6:03)
5. “Moonlight in Silence” (3:46)
6. “Dream” (7:22)
7. “Dancing Stone” (4:17)
8. “Beautiful Encounter” (8:41)
9. “Consolations in D major” (7:12)
10. “Thanks” (4:20)
11. “The Shadow Remains” (3:38)
12. “Rainbow in the Mountains” (3:13)

In Zen Music, Vol. 1

Red Buddha released In Zen Music, Vol. 1 in Japan in January 2011.

This late set compresses Yamash’ta’s meditative language into 11 short pieces. The titles return to places and states that run through the Sanukite-era catalog — shadow, dream, forest, mountain, silence, and rainbow. The program favors small forms and quiet concentration over the extended ceremonial structures of the 1990s discs.

1. “Whisper” (0:47)
2. “The Shadow of Love” (3:24)
3. “Murasakino” (3:21)
4. “In A Dream” (3:27)
5. “Drizzly Step” (3:53)
6. “Stone Mountain” (2:47)
7. “Sound of Silence” (2:40)
8. “Hunch” (3:19)
9. “In the Forest” (2:27)
10. “Indication” (6:09)
11. “Rainbow” (2:40)

Discography:

Metempsychosis (1971 • Stomu Yamash’ta & Masahiko Satoh)
Red Buddha (1971)
Sunrise From West Sea ”Live” (1971)
Floating Music (1972 • Stomu Yamash’ta & Come to the Edge)
Hans Werner Henze, Peter Maxwell Davies, Toru Takemitsu (1972 • Peter Maxwell Davies, Toru Takemitsu, Hans Werner Henze)
Freedom Is Frightening (1973 • Stomu Yamash’ta’s East Wind)
Stomu Yamash’ta / Takemitsu Ishii (1973)
The Man From the East (OST, 1973 • Stomu Yamash’ta’s Red Buddha Theatre)
One by One (OST, 1974 • Stomu Yamash’ta’s East Wind)
Raindog (1975)
Go (1976 • Stomu Yamashta, Steve Winwood, Michael Shrieve)
Go … Live From Paris (1976)
Stomu Yamashta’s Go Too (1977)
Iroha – Ten/Chi (1981)
Iroha-Sui (1982)
Tempest (1982)
いろは「水」 (1982)
Sea & Sky (1983)
いろは「火」 (1983)
Kukai (1984)