The Whole Music Experience

Tomoko Sugawara Along the Silk Road Ancient and Modern Music for the Kugo Motema I normally wouldn’t expect a delicate Silk Road recording to be released on a jazz label. However, Japanese harpist Tomoko Sugawara debuts on Motema’s New World series with her exquisite recording, Along the Silk Road . Although this album marks her third recording, I believe it’s her first recording featuring the kugo, a harp that finds its roots in ancient Mesopotamia. Also known as an angular harp, “chang” (Iran) and “kunghou,” the instrument traveled on the Silk Road from the Middle East and Spain to China and Japan.  Then it mysteriously disappeared during the 17th century. On Along the Silk Road , Sugawara performs solo pieces in which the harp resembles a Japanese zither (koto) as she plucks the tight strings with an occasional strum for emphasis. She also performs collaborative pieces, such as Qawl (ancient Iran), which features a duet of kugo and the Middle Eastern...