Browse by Artist: ITO, TEIJI

Artist:	ITO, TEIJI
Title:	King Ubu
Label:	TZADIK
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	TZ 7036

"Teiji Ito is one of contemporary music's most elusive mavericks. Born in Tokyo in 1935, he moved to NY at the age of six, and by 1952, at the age of seventeen, he was already composing music for the influential avant-garde film work of Maya Deren. Accompanying her to Haiti in 1955, Ito learned ceremonial and secular drumming techniques from the legendary Haitian musician Coyote. Applying these principles to his knowledge of traditional Japanese music, contemporary classical and African traditions, Ito's scores are a shocking precursor to today's cutting-edge composers. King Ubu, originally written for a 1961 NY production of Alfred Jarry's pre-Dadaist masterpiece, is a delightful and eclectic score filled with sly humor and ingenious dramatic effects. Intermixing a wise range of traditional and ethnic instruments, all of which are performed with great skill by the composer himself on this rare original recording, Ito's score to King Ubu establishes him as one of the most extraordinary and personal composers in the NY underground."

Artist:	ITO, TEIJI
Title:	Tenno
Label:	TZADIK
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	TZ 8031

One 52-minute piece, originally recorded in 1964, issued for the first time! Totally classic. "The second in a series of releases by the legendary downtown pioneer Teiji Ito presents his postmodern masterpiece Tenno, blending Japanese, African, Caribbean and Western musical instruments with sound effects, voice and electronics to create the most startling long-form composition in his catalog. Born in Japan in 1935, Ito moved to New York and worked closely with Maya Deren, Jerome Robbins and Julian Beck creating music for film, dance and theatre for nearly half a century. These are the original 1964 recordings of the composer overdubbing himself in his studio, released with the cooperation of the Ito Estate. Astounding and essential music by one of Downtown New York's unsung musical geniuses, who combined improvisation, composition, world music and electronics into a remarkably original and coherent musical system as early as 1952."

Artist:	ITO, TEIJI
Title:	Music For Maya: The Film Music of Teiji Ito
Label:	TZADIK
Format:	2CD
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	TZ 8038

"Focusing on his remarkable relationship with the legendary cinematic poet Maya Deren, Tzadik's third Teiji Ito release highlights his versatile and evocative music for films. Included are two major Deren scores and recently discovered music for a rare film she scripted alongside pieces written for industrial films, documentaries, dance films and the avant-garde. Much of this remarkable collection is being released for the first time through the cooperation of the Ito estate. Includes an extended booklet filled with scores, story-boards, photos, notes and a rare interview Maya Deren conducted with Teiji Ito in the late 1950s. A fascinating view into the composer series' early groundbreaking work of an American maverick seen through the lens of his muse and wife, filmmaker Maya Deren."

Artist:	ITO, TEIJI
Title:	The Shamanic Principles
Label:	TZADIK
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	TZ 8048

"Now hailed as one of the downtown scene's founding fathers, Teiji Ito blended world music, avant-garde classical and improvisation as early as 1952. This fourth volume of music out of the Ito archives features the original recordings of two of his last and most important extended compositions. Drawing upon cosmic and shamanic principles learned first-hand from a variety of spiritual masters around the world, 'Axis Mundi' (using an orchestra of homemade instruments) and 'Quetzalcoatl' (performed with singers from the Sioux Nation) are the culmination of a lifetime of spiritual study by this elusive and enigmatic musical explorer. Another mind-bending view into the fascinating musical universe of Teiji Ito!"

Artist:	ITO, TEIJI
Title:	Watermill
Label:	TZADIK
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	TZ 8058

"The fifth CD in Tzadik's initiative to make available the music of Teiji Ito presents his undisputed masterpiece Watermill. Created in 1971 for the controversial ballet by Jerome Robbins and named for the town on Long Island where Robbins had a peaceful country home, Teiji draws upon Chinese, Tibetan, African, Native American and Japanese ceremonies in creating what many consider his most profound compositional achievement. Based on the ideas of cycles -- years, moons, ages and seasons, Watermill is brilliantly brought to life by Teiji colleague Steve Com and a brilliant ensemble that includes Teiji's daughter Tavia Ito. This is music of deep spirituality composed by a pioneer of the New York Underground who is finally getting the recognition he has long deserved."

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