Kuniko Plays Reich

'This small girl plays so powerfully,' marveled Steve Reich the first time he saw Kuniko Kato perform one of his pieces. Fortunately, the Japanese percussionist – who goes simply by her first name – took it as a compliment rather than a putdown. Kuniko has since established herself as one of the world's foremost interpreters of Reich's percussion pieces, first with the Brussels-based Ictus Ensemble and more recently as a solo performer. Her new album, Kuniko Plays Reich, features her own arrangements of 'Electric Counterpoint', 'Six Marimbas' and 'Vermont Counterpoint', devised in collaboration with the composer himself, and with Kuniko overdubbing the various parts. Live, she repeats the trick by playing with a backing track – not an ideal solution, perhaps, but we suspect she'll be able to pull it off.