Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
With the carefully placed pauses and the way his breath moves the sound through the shakuhachi, one can sense upon first hearing that Phil James' relationship to music and his surroundings are nothing less than spiritually profound. His playing and compositions are always deeply communicative and highly sensual. - NewMusicBox
Phil James succeeds in giving the breath of life to this rich and surprising music. - All Music Guide
...haunting examples of soundscapes that make you think of the sea, dark nights, fog rolling in from the ocean, far-off lands and then more eerie stuff, chilling, rumbling, echoing and then entering a new dimension where few have dared tread. - CD Services
Phil James performs a beautiful and profound set ranging from the earliest known shakuhachi pieces to an homage to John Coltrane. First Places provides the listener with spiritual nourishment bordering on the sacred. - Sparkling Beatnik Records
Discography
Already Gone - Sparkling Beatnik, 1998
First Places - Sparkling Beatnik, 2001
clips of my playing available at my web site, http://nyokai.com
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
I am one of only a handful of American masters of the shakuhachi. I have performed traditional shakuhachi music at colleges, concert halls, cafes, galleries and festivals around the country. I also sit in often with musicians in completely different genres, for example the Violent Femmes, Laurie Anderson, and the experimental jazz band BCR. You can read more about me at my website, http://nyokai.com, which also includes a link to a recent radio show about me.
Links
