Kaoru Watanabe plays three types of Japanese traditional flutes, the shinobue, nohkan and ryuteki, as well as percussion instruments the taiko. He delivers sounds of a folk tradition with Sayun Chang/perc/voc, Sumie Kaneko/koto, Barbara Merjan/perc and Fumi Tanakadate/perc-voc with the result feeling like you’re being transported to a garden filled with cherry blossoms.
The wooden flute teams up with the conversant percussion on material like “ Bloodlines” and the march-like “Kagura Gurui” trio. Voices as if from a market are delivered on “Iki” while earnest chorues team up with the wooden flute on “Dreams.” The plucked strings are plaintive as the dance around the flute and percussion on “Shinobu” and even hints of Irish traditional music are presented with the piccolo sounds on a jig or two. Watanabe’s vibrato is wide and deep, filled with life as on “Reverse”. This is music that takes you on a journey.