Radio City Music Hall New York City Video Copy 10

Kitaro and Jon Anderson live at Radio City Music Half, NYC

By GLENN GOTTLIEB

Kitaro and Jon Anderson have completed a five-city tour of North America. Though Kitaro, the renowned new-age composer/keyboard player, is known for his instrumental albums, his collaboration with Jon Anderson is a natural joining of two musicians from very different cultural backgrounds, who share a common musical language, as well as a common dream. The pair made their final stop on the tour at New York City's Radio City Music Hall.
Mtaro opened the evening with a solo piece, before being joined by Jon for the first of two sets the duo performed together. They played a song from their album, the placid vocal and keyboard piece "Anyone Can Light A Candle," followed by the very bright, upbeat, "If It Wasn't For Love." Kitaro left Jon and the band at this point, as Jon continued with his solo set. Naturally, the large eight-piece band backing the two of them consisted of top-caliber musicians. Lightning-quick bass fretwork helped make the often-covered Jon and Vangelis song "State of Independence" the most dynamic song of the evening. Jon followed by reciting a poem. It was a very simple poem, but it represented the theme which flowed throughout the entire evening. It was about a hope, to move away from war, greed, and starvation, and towards love, peace, and understanding - a great Dream.
Jon closed his set with a stunning version of the song he wrote for 90125, "Hearts." Not only was it an appropriate song for the occasion, but a great one to showcase the versatility and fine musicianship of the mini-orchestra. Keyboards begin the piece simply enough, before the gradual crescendo builds. An acoustic spanish guitar solo adds a nice touch. Before "Hearts" was over, the band rocked like they wouldn't for the rest of the night - the most powerful touch of all being acute musical accents provided by two Japanese violinists. It is nice to be reminded how dramatic it can be to hear classical instruments blending with rock and roll - especially Yes music.
Jon yielded the stage to Kitaro, who performed his own set. Kitaro is a master of the synthesizer, who creates rich and melodious textures and sounds on his keyboards. When he wasn't actually playing, he conducted the large ensemble through his music. He played a number of the instrumentals from Dream, and dipped into his own musical catalog for selections, which included "Hajimari," "Koi," and "Reimei" from his 1990 release, Kojiki. The pairing of these two musicians provided much of the audience with an opportunity to experience new types of music - Kitaro's Eastern-influenced, new age, more free-flowing sounds; and Jon Anderson's Western style, with his roots in rock and roll. In fact, the audience seemed to be equally divided between Yes fans and Kitaro fans. In a broader sense, this union bridged two distinct cultures, musically. Yet, as Jon pointed out, they are musical brothers, whose language of music transcends other languages, and who share a dream.
Jon returned to the stage, and the pair finished the night together, performing "Lady Of Dreams," the first song they wrote together, followed by "Agreement." They closed the set with a piece which does not appear on Dream. A twelve-and-a-half-minute epic, and a stunner, "Peace Symphony" brought Radio City Music Hall's sold out audience to its feet. Like much of their music, this song is heavily influenced by Native American sounds; if not actually paying homage to Native Americans. "Island Of Life," the single from Dream, was the encore.
During the concert, Jon commented that it felt fresh to be playing new music. Indeed, it was a welcome experience to hear such exciting music performed for the first time. Musically, Kitaro's new age sounds, and Jon Anderson's rock-based style, which so often lends itself to an orchestral sound, are a perfect match. Ideologically, these musicians share a common hope, a common cause - dreams regarding our environment, world peace, and other issues that affect every one of us. Hopefully, enough people are listening and share their dream.