Riley Kelly Lee
Riley Kelly Lee is an American-born, Australian-based shakuhachi player and teacher. In 1980 he became the first non-Japanese person to attain the rank of Dai Shihan (grand master) in the shakuhachi tradition.
He settled in Australia in the mid-1980s for a doctorate in ethnomusicology at the University of Sydney on the transmission of the Zen Buddhist shakuhachi repertoire. A recipient of two major lineages descending from the Edo-period tradition, he has introduced the instrument to Australian audiences as a soloist and in wide-ranging collaboration, and has been central to building a professional presence for traditional Japanese music here.
He helped found the Australian Shakuhachi Society and co-founded the Australian taiko ensemble TaikOz. He has taught, published and translated on the instrument and its notation, and appears on Move as shakuhachi player on Passage (MD 3103) and as a featured guest on Such a Sky (MD 3364).
Riley Kelly Lee appears on
Such a Sky
Such a Sky gathers live Salon performances from the Melbourne Recital Centre. Cellist Imogen Manins and pianist Tony Gould are joined by Slava Grigoryan, David Jones, Gian Slater, Riley Lee and Eugene Ughetti.
Passage
Tony Lewis composed these scores for the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre between 1986 and 1988. Commissioned for contemporary dance works, they explore meeting points between Aboriginal and European societies and how Aboriginal people engage with modern Australia.