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The Squid's Ear Magazine
Squidco Freedom Sale! July 3-6, Save 10% to 15% on all new items!


Kawashima, Makoto
arteria

Kawashima, Makoto: arteria (Relative Pitch)

A wild solo performance recorded at GOKsound in Tokyo by Japanese alto saxophonist Makoto Kawashima, whose intense and introspective improvisations balance fierce tonal expression with fragile silences, drawing from the lineage of Abe and Shiraishi while establishing his own haunting and highly individual voice in the realm of free improvisation.
 

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Makoto Kawashima-alto saxophone


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UPC: 5904224874216

Label: Relative Pitch
Catalog ID: RPRSS042
Squidco Product Code: 36208

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at GOKsound, in Tokyo, Japan, on July 27th, 2024, by Yoshiaki Kondoh.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Over the past decade, saxophonist Makoto Kawashima has consistently established himself as one of the most compelling improvisers in contemporary music. His unique approach to solo performance aligns him with the tradition of groundbreaking Japanese saxophonists like Kaoru Abe, Tamio Shiraishi, and Masayushi Urabe. Operating at the fringes of improvised music, Kawashima's artistry unveils a delicate essence, placing equal focus on silence and minute detail alongside intense expressions of tone and texture."-Relative Pitch


Artist Biographies

"Though he has played the saxophone for just over 10 years, Makoto Kawashima has emerged as one of the most original improvisers in a new generation of Japanese players. His releases on his own Homosacer label as well as on this, his debut reveal a haunting and impassioned style of playing.

"Homo Sacer -- Sacred Human. Kawashima's sax is ripe with the spirit of Japanese free jazz, dwelling as it does between the violent and the beautiful. Kaoru Abe, Masayoshi Urabe, Takayuki Hashimoto, Harutaka Mochizuki... all of these altoists live in an area of personal expression rare in the world, one that feels like the body itself is being whittled away at. It feels like we have a new genius to add to that list." --Hideaki Kondo

-Black Editions Group (https://www.blackeditionsgroup.com/be006211-makoto-kawashima)
7/1/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Arteria 13:03

2. Vestigium 26:21

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Asian Improvisation & Jazz
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players
Solo Artist Recordings
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

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Relative Pitch.

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The Squid's Ear Magazine

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