Spring Update and Upcoming Performances

(*upcoming shows listed in 2nd half of post)

Hello everybody,

I write this from Jakarta, the second most populous city in the world, having come directly from the most populous city, Tokyo. I had a performance in Yokohama at a large internet conference, upon the invitation of the father of Japanese internet Jun Murai. I took the opportunity to perform some of my solo project INCENSE. I added some more visual elements to it, commissioning a video created by Testu Collective and receiving permission from Alyson Shotz to use one of her videos. Alyson is an old friend who regularly shows works in major museums across the globe, and I was honored she let me use this work. 

Image of the ‘INCENSE’ performance in Yokoyama, taken from Instagram.

Until then, I performed in various projects here and there- including in a percussion quartet created by Tomas Fujiwara at Joe's Pub and the debut of a new evening-length ballet entitled GENJI, a retelling of The Tale of Genji in Houston. I wanted to continue expanding my repertoire for solo work, including composing and improvising with Ableton. I performed for a full hour on stage with dancers moving around me, cueing off of me, and vice versa. For the three days of rehearsals, I felt the balance and quality of sound, as well as the sequencing, was not in a good place, and I could not focus at all on the dancing, the musicality or looking at the overall production as a whole. By the first of our two shows, however, the sound had come together, and I felt good about the overall structure I had created. I was able to focus more on music-making and supporting the dancers. Taking it a step further, by the second show, I could finally relax and let the music flow naturally, and I left more space for things to happen and I could actually enjoy making music and connecting with the dancers. I feel like I grew as an artist tremendously just in that one week of work.

My upcoming performances include a Silkroad trio featuring Maeve Gilchrist and Kinan Azmeh as part of a multi-year, multifaceted project called the American Railroad, and a return to Joe's Pub, this time with the poet LaTasha Nevada Diggs in May.

Between those two performances, I will be in Chicago, finishing my artist-in-residency there with classes, rehearsals, workshops, and a few final concerts. And speaking of those classes, going deep into lecturing about Japanese performing arts has been amazing over the last few months. I’m used to doing 1-2 hour presentations but having 40 hours to deep dive into any subject has been amazing. Here’s an overview of what the class looks like:

We start with Heian period literature, the solfège notation of Gagaku, and symbolism in Bugaku dance. Then we move into Muromachi period politics, Zeami, the Kadensho, Noh masks, walking suriashi, Kyogen, the Noh ensemble, Edo Period’s thriving art movements, the history of Kabuki, the sexual politics of the onnagata, chirikara byoshi, Bunraku puppets, puppeteers and craftsmen, gidayu singing, the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Following these classical performing arts we move into folk matsuri traditions: Danjiri, Chichibu Yomatsuri, Sanja, Nebuta, Onbashira, Nishimonai, Awa Odori, Onikembai, Nanatsumai, Kurokawa Sansa, Ogi Okesa, Shishiodori, Otsuginai Kagura, learning bits about the actual music and dances. We then spend time with the indigenous Ainu people: their songs and dances as well as their history of oppression, erasure and where they are now in the fight to hold onto their culture. Same with the people of Okinawa- we look at and try some Ryukyu buyo and Eisa, and we listen to the shima uta of Amami Oshima. We study the development of sankyoku, and learn of the lineage of the shakuhachi, the Koto, the Biwa, the kokyu, the ichigenkin and many of their relatives.

Midway through, we start taking strides toward the present day - looking at how transformative changes in the world during the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa periods (the defeat of the Tokugawa Shogunate marking the end of the samurai, the westernization, modernization, and militarization of Japan, imperialism, invasions, atrocities, firebombings, and atomic bombs, the Emperor's Humanity Declaration, the advent of bullet trains, the Tokyo Olympics, ending with the bubble economy, just to name a few...) was reflected in the performing arts: in the writing of Yukio Mishima, butoh dance, in the creation of a village dedicated to traditional Japanese craftsmanship on Sado Island which became an extraordinary musical ensemble Ondekoza. We look at kayokyoku, enka, YMO, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Noise, and game music and how composers such as Toru Takemitsu and Ishii Maki started merging Japanese traditional music with Western classical music to create new works that managed to transcend culture and time. 

I’m humbled by the fact that, perhaps like no other in the US, I can speak from personal experiences performing alongside and building relationships with bearers of so many of these traditional and movements - national living treasures, people who are from first to 13th-generation practitioners of these various arts across Japan- visiting their homes and drinking late into the night with many of them and performing with them on the venerated stages of Kabukiza and Minamiza and the National Theater in Naha. It’s always a privilege to be able to share these stories with others.

— — — — — — — — —

I wrote that a couple of weeks ago. Then a few days ago, the great Sakamoto Ryuichi passed away. Here’s an excerpt of what I wrote about him in a post on social media: 

In so many ways, while he didn't play what anyone would consider traditional music, Sakamoto is a logical step when looking at the timeline of 2000 years of Japanese music- his work contains within it the elegance, sophistication, spirituality, humor and humanity of all that music mentioned above while being groundbreaking, ultra-modern and guiding us to the future.

I saw him perform a duet with a Noh dancer friend at the Stone in NYC sometime around 15 years ago. In retrospect, there were probably less than 20 people in the audience. His playing was a sparse and atonal study in restraint, focus, and beauty. That evening I was too cool (i.e. shy) to speak to him and I regret that tremendously now. We have many people in common but I never had the pleasure of working with him or getting to know him personally, also something that I regret.

For me, both the fact that I'm in Japan now plus that I have been listening to and reading up on him so much over the last couple of weeks to prepare for this class is comforting, like I've been allowed to meditate on his life and pay my respects in a more intimate way. 

One of his favorite proverbs:

“Ars longa, vita brevis.”

Art is long, life is short.

Rest in Peace, Sakamoto Ryuichi

Upcoming SHows:

‘LATASHA NEVADA DIGGS: Village’ at Joe’s Pub (MAY 25TH) 7PM

New York City (click here for tickets and more info)

Kaoru Watanabe will be joining Latasha Nevada Diggs at Joe’s Pub or a celebration of her 2nd book Village. In the book, Diggs “examines how trauma reshapes lineage, language, and choice, disrupting attempts at reconciliation across generations. Questioning who is deemed worthy of public memorialization, Diggs raises new monuments, tears down classist tropes, offers detailed instructions for her own international funeral celebrations, and makes visible the hidden labors of care and place.” They will be also joined by sound practitioner and artist GENG PTP.

‘EXTINCTION RITUALS’ AT JAPAN SOCIETY  (JUNE 9-10) 7:30PM

New York City (click here for tickets and more info)

Directed, choreographed and designed by Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist duo Ximena Garnica & Shige Moriya, Extinction Rituals is inspired by acts of remembrance celebrating the life and loss of animals, plants and environments from the places they call home—Kyoto, Bogota, and NYC. Through poetic vignettes of movement, light, music and song, these mesmerizing tableaux weave together an original score by Oscar-nominated composer Kaoru Watanabe, the powerful voice of Colombian singer Carolina Oliveros, and the butoh-rooted work of the LEIMAY Ensemble, including dancers Masanori Asahara and Krystel Copper. Following the work-in-progress showings, Garnica and Moriya sit down for a Q&A with the audience to elaborate on the international exchanges behind this timely and profoundly collaborative piece.

JAPAN SOCIETY GALA (JUNE 14)

New York City (click here for registration and more info)

Kaoru will be the featured performance at the 2023 iteration of this annual gala. The event is quite popular and registration fills up quickly, so it is recommended you use the link provided above to go to the website and fill out a registration form as soon as possible.

GROTON HILL ORCHESTRA (JUNE 17)

Groton, Massachusetts (click here for tickets and more info)

Kaoru will be the featured guest soloist, playing taiko and shinobue flutes, for the season finale of the Groton Hill Orchestra. Join as they celebrate both the community and the personal lives of their members with momentous works like Beethoven’s joyous symphony and Arvo Pärt’s Fratres. Follow the link above to learn more about the program and to purchase tickets.

Duck Creek arts 2023 Music Series (August 19) 5pm

East Hamptons, NY (click here for more info)

A free outdoor performances as part of the Duck Creek Arts music series running from June till September. Perfect for bringing the family, some beach chairs, a picnic and enjoying the scenic environment by The Duck Creek Arts Center. Use links provided above for directions and more info.