Track Listing

1. Satori
2. Kazue
3. Nightingale
4. Spring Rain
5. Temple Steps
6. Wanderer
7. Searching
8. Dreams

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2082 in Music
• Brand: Lee
• Released on: 1997-03-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
The CD's liner notes define satori as "the indescribable experience of sudden, intuitive spiritual realization." That may be, yet unless you are a serious student of yoga or a fan of its ancient musical traditions, you may struggle to reach such a state while listening to these improvisations for shakuhachi flute (Riley Lee) and koto (Gabriel Lee, no relation). The recording's mood is almost somber and contrasts noticeably with Oriental Sunrise and Sanctuary, two splendid Riley Lee discs that offer a broader, more expressive tonal range. Here a stronger Oriental mood is conveyed, and the notion of stillness is pursued with such earnestness that the final result (to Occidental ears) is ultimately a state of inertia. While composers sometimes refer to the use of silence as an overt creative element in their works, Satori relies so heavily on the approach that it seems as though Lee's flute is being filtered through a dense fog, and from a substantial distance. Satori, originally recorded in 1983, seems best suited to serious-minded yoga practitioners and those who prefer to adorn their meditative states with only the most minimal of audio embellishments. For such people, this disc could be the answer to prayers. For others interested in shakuhachi music, the two aforementioned discs are likely to be more satisfying choices. --Terry Wood

Customer Reviews

A Rare and Wonderful Spiritual Journey
I must admit, when it comes to this album and it's companion, Oriental Sunrise, I am more than a bit biased. I was the producer, recording engineer and co-editor for the original recordings of both albums, released on Plumeria Productions Hawaii label, in 1983. Few people know and Riley might be reluctant to advertise that all the music was "channeled" or improvised and recorded during one five-hour live session, in Lanikai, on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. It was a truly magical experience I will never forget.
Gabriel Lee and I edited the five hours and arranged it into two distinctly different albums. Oriental Sunrise contains the brighter, more accessable "day" music and Satori, the deeper, darker "night" hues.
By today's or even 1983 standards, the technical quality was less than professional and I was very pleased that Riley chose to transcribe the music and re-record both albums. I was particularly pleased to see that he recorded Satori with the co-creator of the music, Gabriel Lee.
Both Satori and Oriental Sunrise contain what can truly be called "inspired" music. I know. I was there.

Perfection
This is one of the deepest, most spiritual pieces of music you may ever hear. The title track, Satori, is beyond words.
True Zen. It is about nothing and about everything. There is the repeated, plaintive cry of a mist-shourded horn and a deep sense of melancholic loss. The stillness resonates and builds to a feeling of resolution, light, color and the after-life.
Guaranteed to transport the mind.
One can only hope such a place truly exists.

Simply superb music for inner peace.
If you enjoy traditional Shakuhachi meditation music or possibly Richard Warner's "Quiet Heart/Spirit Wind" CDs, then this is a recording you probably will enjoy. A great catalyst for mindfulness meditation or peacefull contemplation. There are many layers to the music which appears to be Zen-like in it's simplicity.