The line I liked best from the many tributes and obituaries about composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto came from the Guardian, which called him “a restless traveller.” He was at times an electronic pop pioneer, a part of Japan’s musical avant garde and an acclaimed film composer; his first score was for the 1983 movie “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” in which he acted alongside David Bowie.
Sakamoto spent the last decade of his life dealing with several forms of cancer; in 2021, he announced that his health had taken a turn for the worse and “from now on, I will be living alongside cancer.” But he added, “I am hoping to make music for a little while longer.” Sakamoto did, performing and recording in short bursts when his health permitted and putting the individual performances together for pre-recorded online concerts as well a final album, called 12.
This isn’t strictly a holiday song, but it’s our first Christmas without Ryuichi Sakamoto and I thought we’d all enjoy hearing him one more time.
