Jeffrey Lependorf: Journeys Have Destinations of Which the Traveler is Unaware

This recording of new works for shakuhachi and classical guitar has brought composer and shakuhachi master Jeffrey Lependorf to new places both in terms of incorporating improvisation into composed scores and in terms of composing for himself to perform with other instruments. Challenged to incorporate guitarist Scott Field's deep roots in avant-jazz performance with his formal classical training in traditional Buddhist meditation music, Lependorf was presented with an opportunity to create composed works that invite varying levels of improvisation. A graduate in music composition of Columbia and Oberlin, Jeffrey Lependorf also is a certified master of the shakuhachi. His colleague, guitarist Scott Fields, studied at the University of Wisconsin. As a leader of his own groups and a sideman in other groups, Fields has toured throughout North America, Europe and Asia and appears on more than 30 recordings.