I would like to thank all the musicians, engineers, consultants whose shoulders I leaned on and who contributed immeasurably to this labor of love. Much of the music that inspires me comes from the islands of the world – Okinawa, Indonesia, Cabo Verde, Hawaii, Jamaica, and Cuba, hence the name of this CD – Spirit of the Island. I would like to thank all the musicians who have passed but inspired me as well as musicians creating music all over the planet as we speak.In addition to my passion for the music of the islands, I like snorkeling, swimming with the fish. So the idea for the CD cover came after finding this photo of a diatom by photographer-biologist Michael Stringer. Diatoms, unicellular eukaryotic microalgae, live in all the oceans and contribute to 40% of marine life worldwide, They are responsible for 20% of global carbon fixation and 40% of marine primary productivity. Thus they are major contributors to climate change processes, and form a substantial basis of the marine food web. Diatoms play an important ecological role on a global scale so I thought this would be an apt visual expression of my music.

After discovering the photo, I contacted Michael Stringer and here is an excerpt from his letter:

Greetings, San Francisco!. . . . My diatom study is on the island of Two Tree [this tiny, uninhabited island sits squeezed in between Leigh on Sea and another quaint island, Canvey Island, which is in the River Thames] and I have studied them for years, simply because nobody else has! Is there a better reason? I bet you didn’t know that diatoms can move and some of them are very fast. I have one example where a diatom, scaled up, is travelling 5 metres a second which is half the speed of Usain Bolt. Not bad, eh?

Amazing to be communicating and sharing something with someone half way around the world as if they are just around the corner!

Musicians:

Makoto Horiuchi Guitar, keyboards,

Eric Kamau Gravatt Drums

Masaru KogaTenor saxophone, Soprano sax, Fue (Ancient Eyes), Shakuflute (Spirit of the Island)

Hiroyuki Shido Bass

Jamie Ente Vocal (Dusk)

Yun Kyong Jin Piri (Waltz 4 Chayez)

George Abe Fue (Ancient Eyes, Dawn)

Isaku Kageyama Percussion, congas

Kenny Endo Percussion (Ancient Eyes, Dawn, Dusk), Tsutume (Dawn, Spirit of the Island)

Special Notes:

1. Spirit of the Island
The inspiration for this song came after I started thinking about where the muse for the music was originating. I soon discovered that a lot of the music that inspires me comes from the islands of the world – Okinawa, Indonesia, Cabo Verde, Hawaii, and Cuba.

2. Ancient Eyes
Playing Gagaku (Ancient Music from Japan that was introduced in Japan in the year 640AD by a Vietnamese Monk) music made me reflect and dream on the music of the past.

5. Funky Mr T
A song written for a great Musician, Producer, Photographer, and friend, Teruo Nakamura.

7. Ambrosia
Wrote this song after I listened to some of Ambrose Akinmusire’s writing, and is a play on words.

12. Waltz 4 Chayez
Dedicated to my cousin’s granddaughter Chayez, a wonderfully bright and shining star in the universe.