By Jordan Oakes
Photograph by Dilip Vishwanat
For musician Mitsuyoshi Saito, the crystalline, ever-flowing sound of his cello is nothing less than a fountain of tranquility. Trained in Tokyo, Saito can always hit the right note, musically. For him, the challenge is to hit the right emotional note—to find that magical spot between insouciance and concentration. Saito believes that when all the elements come together, the performer benefits as much as the audience.
Sadly for St. Louis, Saitu has relocated to Cincinnati to accept a job offer ... but he’ll always be as near as the “play” button on your stereo. Saito’s new CD, Till Morning Breaks, softly celebrates the end of a difficult time in his life and contemplates the promise of a new beginning. Lacking confessional lyrics—or any at all—to spell out the details of his journey, the naked instrumentals say more alone than words possibly could. In richly woven confluence with guitar and piano (the former provided by Chip Katz and Walker McClennan, the latter by Carolyn Day and Christina Jones), the cello is just one voice in a democracy of understatement. Rather than call attention to itself in a display of virtuosity, Saito’s instrument becomes part of something greater. Because he thinks outside the cello case, those who have heard Saito’s CDs have become fast fans of his slow music—even those not usually into music with strings attached.
Keep tabs on Mitsu at myspace.com/soothingcello, and find your copy of Till Morning Breaks at cdbaby.com.
