Elizabeth Reian Bennett

BiographyElizabeth Reian Bennett is the first woman to play professionally as a Grand Master of the shakuhachi, the Japanese bamboo flute, and stands out as one of only a handful of western players trained in traditional Japanese music. She has studied and performed with Living National Treasure Aoki Reibo, recognized as Japan's foremost shakuhachi instrumentalist, for 30 years.Since her debut recital in Tokyo in 1984, Reian Bennett has performed frequently in Japan and worldwide, from Australia and Europe to Mexico, Afghanistan and the United States. Her most recent Tokyo appearances were in February of 2008; notable venues include Tokyo National Theater and NHK (Japan National TV). Other high points of 2008 were her participation in the World Shakuhachi Festival in Sydney in July and the British Flute Society Conference in Manchester, UK, in August. She has been interviewed on radio by Faith Middleton of Fresh Air, Robert J. Lurtsema of Morning Pro Musica and Richard Knisley of Classical Performances.Her CD entitled Song of the True Hand, released in 2006, was nominated 'Instrumental Album of the Year' by Jon Sobel at Blogcritics Magazine. In describing it, Sobel wrote, “(it exemplifies)… the way a single individual with a musical instrument can wordlessly conjure the human spirit out of thin air.” Hartford Advocate critic Dan Barry compares her musical vocabulary to “…Coltrane in his prime”. Reian Bennett is now working on her next CD, Rhythm of the Waves. She teaches the shakuhachi through the world music program at Tufts University near Boston.To purchase her CD Song of the True Hand, please go to:www.cdbaby.com/cd/erbennett