Track Listing

1. Is All Not One?
2. Murmuring Sound of the Mountain Stream
3. Quivering Leaf, Ask the Winds
4. After the Snow, the Fragrance
5. To Drift Like Clouds
6. Za-Zen (Meditation)
7. Prajna-Paramita-Hridaya Sutra (Sutra Chant)
8. Sanzen (Moment of Truth)
9. Satori (Enlightenment)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64434 in Music
• Released on: 1997-07-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued

Amazon.com
A celebrated jazz clarinetist in the 1950s, Tony Scott started collaborating with Japanese artists on a trip he made to the country in 1959. He returned in 1964 to teach classes in American jazz and ended up collaborating with koto player Shinichi Yuize and shakuhachi flute player Hozan Yamamoto on a dozen improvised collaborations. Based on the Zen concept of beginner's mind, a state of openness that leads to exploration, the Scott-led pieces predate the more modern concept of "ambient" by a good couple of decades--but, as music descended from temples and designed to ease the mind to a state of higher consciousness, it follows many of the same directives. The gentle clarinet is complemented by the flute, with the koto--a 13-stringed zither--providing a comfortable contrast, though all three musicians appear on only a single track, the opening "Is Not All One?" --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews

Perfect for meditation/prayer or simple relaxation.
I hesitated to order this, as I do not practice Zen meditation, but did so based on listening to the samples. And I am so glad I did! This music is wonderfully relaxing and works as either background music or the focus of attention. Some of the selections have almost a Native American quality to them, and all of them can transport one to places of spiritual peace or renewed energy. Wonderful meditation tool for anyone!

Good walking music
I don't currently meditate seriously. (Though I do sit and stare into space with a blank mind at times, it's not quite the same thing!)

I put this into my portable CD player as I was going on my daily walk, and it was remarkable what it did. Instead of drawing my attention to the music, it focussed my attention outward. The familiar scenery seemed to take on a new and mysterious beauty and the sounds of wind and birds seemed to harmonize with the music, giving me the feeling of being on a strange and mystical journey. Wonderful as a change of pace and as atmospheric music, and I look forward to attempting meditation with it.

The only Music I Sit to.
When you sit (zazen) the music you listen to should not have any kind of melody.This is because you would start listening only to the music and not "just sitting". "Music for Zen Meditation"is perfect for just this. It fills the gap of silence which is very important for beginners. I have sat to this music every day for close to 20 years. First on a record ( which I wore out), now on CD.