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“A wonderful movie experience! Mark Izu works magic with his new score for The Dragon Painter. He takes this forgotten artifact from another time, injects it with warmth, whimsy and passion, and brings it back to life for us.” Kudos especially go to bassist Mark Izu who cloaks his playing in the supple tones of iron and silk One of the highest (peaks) was reached by bassist Mark Izu in a solo that went beyond the usual rhythmic plunking to work out a careful and hypnotic theme, draw variations upon it and take it to a logical, symmetrical conclusion. “. . . Izu, a gifted, obviously innovative composer/musician.” Taking to the bare stage in simple black outfits, Izu, played the contra bass impeccably and compellingly . . . Izu’s music complements the journey, moving us to the mysterious and timeless power of music that makes you feel everything. Izu’s bass-line throbs like a rush of the blood in your ears at 2 o’clock in the morning, like the buzz of high tension wires, and the beat of your heart. Piercing through the urgent mix of urban madness and traditional idiom rises the human-like wail of the hichiriki, a Japanese flute of astounding nuance played by Togi Suenobu (Izu’s teacher). Mark Izu . . . leans to dark reverberant sonorities and stark phrases that seem to be chiseled in some magically resilient stone. ...they often conjured up the spirit of early Mingus -- an impression heightened by the playing of bassist Mark Izu, who leans to dark reverberant sonorities and stark phrases that seem to be chiseled in some magically resilient stone. . . . the narration that accompanies Mark Izu’s “Last Dance” brings matters straight down to the personal, as an internment-camp band plays “In a Sentimental Mood” to a group of dancers who’ve just been told they’re about to be freed to an uncertain future – it’s hard not to be moved. And most of the program choose the subtle, multilayered messages that only purely instrumental music can covey. |
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