In "Pachinko / Zen," composer Gene Coleman presents a solo performance mixing spoken word, video, field recordings and music, all of which create an impression of contemporary Japan. As the title suggests, this is a portrait in image and sound of a society that embraces extremes. The overwhelming and dizzying experience of the Pachinko parlor (to be found in Tokyo everywhere) closely mirrors the manic pace and sheer density of life in Japan's major cities. On the other side of the coin, the attributes of Zen Buddhism are nevertheless present within this society in many ways, with the traditional and experimental music scenes in Tokyo being a case in point.

During 8 months in Tokyo, Gene Coleman gathered many images and sounds to be used in this event, to which he adds readings from Japanese newspapers, advertisements, and selected texts by authors who have written about Japan. The images are presented in the form of a video projection created in collaboration with the Chicago artist Tom Denlinger, while the prerecorded sounds create a "soundtrack" for both spoken word and video image. This all could be described as a "non linear movement through the contemporary Japanese landscape."

Gene Coleman is a composer and bass clarinetist. He is artistic director of the Chicago based new music group "Ensemble Nomanesia" and the annual new music festival "Sound Field." He is a guest composer and artistic director of the festival "Transonic" at the House of World Cultures in Berlin for 2003 and 2004. In 2001 he lived in Tokyo as a creative arts fellow of the US -Japan Friendship Commission, where he worked with musicians from traditional and experimental music backgrounds. His compositions have gained him considerable recognition, particularly in Europe, with commissions from Trio Accanto, The Ernst von Siemens Foundation, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Recherché, Takefu International Music Festival, Wien Modern, The International House of Japan, and The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, among others.