August and September Update

Thanks as always for visiting this page. I'm currently in Montreal for performances and workshops hosted by my good friend, the great percussionist Patrick Graham. Barbara Merjan and I drove from NY in the rain talking about music, family and life in general.Last night I had drinks with Kiyoshi Nagata, Heidi Chan and Akemi Akachi from Toronto's Nagata Shachu. Kiyoshi spent a year as a Kodo apprentice about 4 years earlier then I so we had lots to talk about- gossip about our fellow apprentices and Kodo members, the hard training routines and the constant getting yelled at! Throughout life I feel like I'm constantly connecting and reconnecting with others and as my experiences in life compound, my understanding of what these relationships mean grows deeper. I also realize more every day that the struggles or concerns that I have in life are dwarfed by what my parents and their parents and my friend's parents went through decades before. In the last few days, more than usual I have been thinking about parents and grandparents and the idea of parenting in general and about how hard work, sacrifice and dumb luck all factor in to the legacies we create.

Speaking of trying to create legacies!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10th, 7:00 pm TAIKO WORKSHOP 9:15 pm PERFORMANCE (with Patrick Graham and Barbara Merjan) 2525 Rachel East Montreal, Canada

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11th, 4:30pm and 10:15pm Patrick Graham Ensemble Avec Kaoru Watanabe Festival des Traditions du Monde de Sherbrooke with Barbara Merjan http://ftms.ca/en/programme/patrick-graham-ensemble-avec-kaoru-watanabe/

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 10:00 pm PROJECT FUKUSHIMA! NYC — A benefit for Japan Kaoru Watanabe (fue, taiko) Shanir Blumenkranz (bass, oud) Yuka (voice, taishogoto, ukulele, electronics) Pet Bottle Ningen: Dave Scanlon (guitar) Nonoko Yoshida (sax) Dave Miller (drums) Aya Nishina + Miho Hatori’s NEW OPTIMISM: Miho Hatori (vocal) Timo Ellis (bass) Shoko Nagai (key) Ahmed Gallab (drums) Aya Nishina (piano) The benefit marathon concert in NYC hosted by three bands (20 minutes each) dedicates all its proceeds to “Project FUKUSHIMA!” in Japan.

PROJECT FUKUSHIMA WEBSITE— http://www.pj-fukushima.jp/index.html Special Notes from Otomo Yoshihide and Ryoichi Wago: On August 15 we will hold a festival in Fukushima. We will organize numerous events before and after the festival, and carry out projects in and out of Fukushima under the name Fukushima! for a continuous and long-term basis.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 18TH Students of KWTC and I will be performing at a neighborhood street fair! Should be a lot of fun and a great way to get to better know the great Prospect Heights, Washington Ave community. info here: http://washington-avenue.org/news/wash-ave-rocks-line-up

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND In F - This is one of my favorite little music venues in Oizumigakuen. The owner is a sake connoisseur fro Niigata, a great oden maker and a lover of music. I haven't finalized who my bandmates for this evening are quite yet, but the information will be coming very soon. http://in-f.cocolog-nifty.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH Gather. Create. Illuminate. Kaoru Watanabe's Resonance 2012: "Awakening"

世界的に有名な芸能集団「鼓童」で芸術監督を務めていた2007年、笛奏者である渡辺薫は一夜限りの舞台作品「Resonance～余韻」を開催しそのアート性と音楽的な完成度は見る者を驚嘆させた。それ以来、「Resonance～余韻」は毎年恒例のシリーズ作品となっており、毎回、新たな共演者が加わるたびにオリジナル・メンバーの才能も一段と輝きを増している。「Resonance 2011」は東日本大震災をうけて中止となったため、今年の「覚醒」は、新たな決意で再編成し、前進するチャンスでもある。渡辺の監督のもと、今年の舞台の目玉は、生ける伝説・仙波清彦による最新鋭のパーカッション、松田美緒の天使の歌声、内藤哲郎の現代的な太鼓のビート、高橋香織の官能的なバイオリン、岩見継吾がつまびくアコースティック・ベースや、DH ローゼンのデザインによるデジタル背景幕など目白押しだ。新しいフュージョンとフォルムを創り出すという目的のためだけに集められた一流のキャストで、今年の「覚醒」は、定義されることを拒み、新たな表現を生み出す音楽＆アート体験となること間違いなしだ。

In 2007, while still serving as the artistic director for the world renowned Japanese performing arts group KODO, fue/flute player Kaoru Watanabe called together a group of friends to form Resonance, a one-night multimedia celebration of sight and sound that astounded the audience. Since that time, Resonance has become an ongoing series that continues to leverage the talents of original members as it adds new collaborators each time. Resonance 2011 was cancelled due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, so this year's "Awakening" is a chance to regroup and move forward with renewed resolve. Under Watanabe's direction, this year's show features cutting-edge percussion by living legend Kiyohiko Semba, the angelic voice of Matsuda Mio, contemporary taiko beats by Testuro Naito, the sultry violin of Kaori Takahashi, strumming acoustic bass by Keigo Iwami and a digital backdrop designed by D.H. Rosen. With a stellar cast assembled for the sole purpose of creating new fusion and forms, this year's "Awakening" promises to be a music and art experience that defies definition and engenders new expressions.

Cast 渡辺薫 Kaoru Watanabe 仙波清彦 Kiyohiko Semba 高橋香織 Kaori Takahashi 松田美緒 Mio Matsuda 内藤哲郎 Tetsuro Naito 岩見継吾 Keigo Iwami DH ローゼン　DH Rosen

Orange Lady・BeeHive http://orange-lady.com 東京都港区六本木7-11-10 TEL.03-5772-7663

前売り・Advance: 2,500yen +1D 当日・At the Door: 3,000 +1D 前売り予約・Advance Reservations: までメールをお願いします。

July/August Activities

Thanks everyone who came out to my last minute performance with two amazing musicians, Matt Garrison and Arto Tuncboyaciyan at the Shapeshifter Lab. TONIGHT!!! WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 8:00PM Camille Brown & Dancers at Central Park Summerstage Along with selections from her exciting repertoire, Camille A. Brown & Dancers will unite with vocalist and composer, Imani Uzuri, as they premiere a work set to music from Uzuri’s new album, The Gypsy Diaries, which will be performed live with Uzuri's band members, including Kaoru Watanabe (flute). Rumsey Playfield, on E. 72nd St off 5th Ave, New York, NY. 6 train to 68th Street. http://www.cityparksfoundation.org/calendar/camille-a-brown-dancers-with-special-musical-guest-imani-uzuri-malcolm-low-formal-structure-inc-special-guest-dancin-downtown-at-the-joyce-contest-winner/

THURSDAYS THROUGH SUNDAYS, 8:00 pm BAAL by Bertolt Brecht - part of the 2012 underground zero festival. A Hoi Palloi production @JACK 505 1/2 Waverly Ave between Fulton and Atlantic, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. (C or G train to Clinton-Washington) Performances are pay-what-you-can at the door, with no advance reservations possible. Adult content — not suitable for children under 17. http://www.jackny.org/ nice writeup here: http://newyorktheatrereview.blogspot.com/2012/07/catherine-mueller-on-hoi-pollois-baal.html

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2nd, 8:00 pm (sittin' in with*) Mathias Kunzli @ THE STONE the corner of Avenue C and 2nd st *I think this is a secret. Perhaps I shouldn't have posted this?

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5th, 5:30 pm Hiroshima and Nagasaki Annual Memorial Interfaith Gathering together with "Voices from Japan: Despair and Hope from Disaster" Cathedral of St. John the Divine 1047 Amsterdam Ave at 112th St Interfaith Ceremony (performances by Shinji Hirada and Kaoru Watanabe) http://voices-from-japan.org

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10th, 7:00 pm TAIKO WORKSHOP/ 9:15 pm PERFORMANCE (with Patrick Graham and Barbara Merjan) 2525 Rachel East Montreal, Canada

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11th, 4:30pm and 10:15pm Patrick Graham Ensemble Avec Kaoru Watanabe Festival des Traditions du Monde de Sherbrooke with Barbara Merjan http://ftms.ca/en/programme/patrick-graham-ensemble-avec-kaoru-watanabe/

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 10:00 pm PROJECT FUKUSHIMA! NYC — A benefit for Japan Kaoru Watanabe (fue, taiko) Shanir Blumenkranz (bass, oud) Yuka (voice, taishogoto, ukulele, electronics) Pet Bottle Ningen: Dave Scanlon (guitar) Nonoko Yoshida (sax) Dave Miller (drums) Aya Nishina + Miho Hatori’s NEW OPTIMISM: Miho Hatori (vocal) Timo Ellis (bass) Shoko Nagai (key) Ahmed Gallab (drums) Aya Nishina (piano) The benefit marathon concert in NYC hosted by three bands (20 minutes each) dedicates all its proceeds to “Project FUKUSHIMA!” in Japan.

PROJECT FUKUSHIMA WEBSITE— http://www.pj-fukushima.jp/index.html Special Notes from Otomo Yoshihide and Ryoichi Wago: On August 15 we will hold a festival in Fukushima. We will organize numerous events before and after the festival, and carry out projects in and out of Fukushima under the name Fukushima! for a continuous and long-term basis.

After the disaster, Japan was faced not just with the damage from the earthquake and the tsunami, but also with the accident at a nuclear power plant for which solutions are nowhere in sight. Some may feel that this is no time for holding a festival, given that many people are faced with the potential loss of their hometowns, schoolyards are unusable due to elevated radiations levels, and many evacuees are not allowed to go back to their own homes. But we have not given up on Fukushima by any means. Even if some places have been made uninhabitable, we want to believe in Fukushima’s rebirth. That is why we need a festival. We need music. We need a place where people can gather to converse. We need hope, a motivation to live. In order to prevent Fukushima from being forgotten, and to retain Fukushima’s connection with the outside world, we want to make the festival a stepping-stone for the future. —Otomo Yoshihide

We are Fukushima. We won’t give up on Fukushima. The light of Fukushima, the clouds of Tohoku, the history, the lives, the kindheartedness, the fathers and mothers, the Abukuma river, the twinkling of the stars, the smiles of children… we believe in all those “Fukushimas”. 3.11. In order to seize “Fukushima” back from that day, we shall come together in the middle of August to make a declaration to the world. We will not give up our dreams, we will not give up on ourselves, we will not give up on Fukushima, we will not give up on Japan. Let us look up to the blue skies of Fukushima. To the light and the clouds and the lives. To father sky. To mother earth. In the fields of Fukushima, in the grounds of Fukushima, for the heartbeat of Fukushima, for you, we will be waiting. —Ryoichi Wago

July Performances

 

FRIDAY, JULY 20th Summer Happyoukai! My students, interns and I as well as special guests will be performing pieces on the taiko drum and fue in a very informal potluck setting. "Happyoukai" means recital, an opportunity for us to present what we have been working on over the course of the last months and years as well as an excuse to come together for a relaxing evening of food, drink and music. Please come, bring friends, bring a dish or some drinks and be prepared to drum! The Village@Gureje 886 Pacific St Brooklyn, NY 11238 FREE admission

JULY 24th, Tuesday Series Curated by Matt Garrison Date: July 24 (Tue) Time: 8:00p Show: Opener 8:30m/Main Act: 9:30p Cover: $10 Main Act: Matt Garrison (bass) + Kaoru Watanabe (flute) + Damion Reid (drums) Opener: Simon Alexander-Adams - (electronics) = Caleb McMachon - (trumpet) shapeshifterlab.com

JULY 12 - AUGUST 5, Thursdays through Sundays at 8 pm BAAL by Bertolt Brecht - part of the 2012 undergroundzero festival Every weekend of this month either myself, Barbara Merjan, Evan Schnoll or Patty Chen will be performing taiko with acclaimed theater company Hoi Palloi. JACK 505 1/2 Waverly Ave between Fulton and Atlantic, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. (C or G train to Clinton-Washington) Performances are pay-what-you-can at the door, with no advance reservations possible. Adult content — not suitable for children under 17. http://www.jackny.org/ nice writeup here: http://newyorktheatrereview.blogspot.com/2012/07/catherine-mueller-on-hoi-pollois-baal.html

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012 Camille Brown & Dancers at Central Park Summerstage 8:00PM Along with selections from her exciting repertoire, Camille A. Brown & Dancers will unite with vocalist and composer, Imani Uzuri, as they premiere a work set to music from Uzuri’s new album, The Gypsy Diaries, which will be performed live with Uzuri's band members, including Kaoru Watanabe (flute). Rumsey Playfield, on E. 72nd St off 5th Ave, New York, NY. 6 train to 68th Street. http://www.cityparksfoundation.org/calendar/camille-a-brown-dancers-with-special-musical-guest-imani-uzuri-malcolm-low-formal-structure-inc-special-guest-dancin-downtown-at-the-joyce-contest-winner/

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5th Hiroshima and Nagasaki Annual Memorial Interfaith Gathering together with "Voices from Japan: Despair and Hope from Disaster" Cathedral of St. John the Divine 1047 Amsterdam Ave at 112th St 5:30 Interfaith Ceremony (performances by Shinji Hirada and Kaoru Watanabe) http://voices-from-japan.org

Other than these, I have been busy teaching at my studio and traveling to Philadelphia to work with the taiko group Kyo Daiko on a commission. In the horizon, I'm preparing for performances in New York, Montreal, Tokyo and Sapporo in the next few months, teaching at both Princeton and Wesleyan University in the fall, as well as trips to Central America and Australia in the new year. A new duo CD with taiko master Kenny Endo is almost ready for release!

July Activities!

It's hot here in New York! Although back in my hometown of St. Louis, today's high was around 108 with a heat index of 111. I love the heat- all I need is lots of iced coffee and shade and I'm ok. I have various performances coming up in the next few weeks and I hope to see some of you out there if you do end up venturing from your air-conditioned homes! July 7th and 8th 1 to 5 pm 34 st UNIQLO store Isaku Kageyama is coming down from Boston to perform with me, Mari and Evan as part of the Uniqlo festival Saturday and Sunday afternoon. We will be doing 10 minute sets broken up with 30 minute breaks in between. Please come down for some shopping and good music! http://www.uniqlo.com/us/

July 12 - August 5, Thursdays through Sundays at 8 pm Hoi Polloi presents BAAL, by Bertolt Brecht as part of the 2012 undergroundzero festival Location: JACK, 505 1/2 Waverly Ave between Fulton and Atlantic, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. C or G train to Clinton-Washington. Performances are pay-what-you-can at the door, with no advance reservations possible. Adult content — not suitable for children under 17. http://www.jackny.org/

July 13th RESOBOX Performance at the opening reception of Mayuko Okada's "Yellow Cab+Wasabi" 41-26 27th Street, Long Island City, NY 11101 Tel: (718) 784-3680 ‎ email: info@resobox.com

July 24th Shapeshifter Lab Brooklyn Duo with Matthew Garrison 18 Whitwell Place Brooklyn, NY 11215 http://www.shapeshifterlab.com/

August 1st Summerstage CAMILLE A. BROWN & DANCERS with special musical guest IMANI UZURI http://www.cityparksfoundation.org/calendar/camille-a-brown-dancers-with-special-musical-guest-imani-uzuri-malcolm-low-formal-structure-inc-special-guest-dancin-downtown-at-the-joyce-contest-winner/

And upcoming in August in September: performances in Montreal, Tokyo and Hokkaido as well as teaching engagements in Philadelphia, Princeton and Wesleyan Universities.

Flutes of Hope, June 28th 7:30

In honor of the stellar and deeply moving exhibition now underway at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, "VOICES FROM JAPAN: Despair and Hope from Disaster," we will have a very special concert at the Cathedral on June 28.

FLUTES OF HOPE Thursday, June 28, 7:30 PM Cathedral of St. John the Divine 1047 Amsterdam Ave. at 112th St.

featuring: Kaoru Watanabe, yokobue Akihito Obama and Ralph Samuelson, shakuhachi Sumie Kaneko, koto and shamisen

http://www.stjohndivine.org/flutesofhope.html

Japion Article

The Japanese language NY paper JAPION recently visited my taiko studio and wrote an article about our going ons:

Here's a link to the actual article http://www.ejapion.com/living/circle/662

Zinc Bar, Wednesday June 13th

Dear Friends,

I'm happy to announce the Zinc Bar premiere of a new collective band this Wednesday. The music is an exciting blend of styles and genres, from West African to Midde Eastern to Japanese to Western improvised musics of many kinds, with compositions by all. We hope you can join us!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 Zinc Bar

Tim Keiper : Kamale Nguni Matt Kilmer : Percussion Chris Dingman : Vibraphone Kaoru Watanabe : Flute and Fue

One Set at 7:30pm Zinc Bar, 82 West Third Street, New York, NY 10012 Tickets: $10 Info: www.zincbar.com

BIOS:

Tim Keiper has performed internationally on drums, kamale nguni (a West African harp-like string instrument), and percussion for the past decade with Cyro Baptista, Vieux Farka Toure, John Zorn, Jonas Mekas, and Dirty Projectors.

Percussionist Matt Kilmer has performed and recorded with artists such as Simon Shaheen, Lauryn Hill,Krishna Das, and Reggie Watts. His work can be heard on the FX series "Louie" and with his band "The Mast.”

Chris Dingman's progressive approach to the vibes has earned him praise for his “poignant work” (David Sprague, Variety), as “deeply lyrical” (Nate Chinen, NY Times), and “a leader worth following” (Fred Kaplan,Stereophile). A graduate of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, he has performed and studied extensively with many of the world’s greatest jazz musicians, including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Marcus Miller, and Terence Blanchard.

Village Voice's Carol Cooper's review of Imani Uzuri@Joe's Pub

Here's the link http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2012/06/imani_uzuri_joes_pub_june_1_review.php

And here's just the text:

Better Than: Being sad that Alice Coltrane and Cesaria Evora are dead and that Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill don't make albums together.

The Gypsy Diaries is North Carolina homegirl Imani Uzuri's second self-produced release, and it proves that major-label support can become irrelevant with shrewd uses of online tools like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, as well as a fanbase that include the likes of The Roots, Bill Laswell, and Talib Kweli. With a voice that would sound equally at home on an opera stage or a disco 12-inch, Uzuri is a constant surprise on record, seamlessly combining jazz, classical, country and blues motifs into highly personalized compositions.

Like so many American musicians these days—the Berklee graduate who moved to Rio to help revive the choro or the Brooklyn jam bands who have defected from R&B and hip-hop to play Afrobeat—Uzuri appears to be opting out of the pop-radio rat-race to reinvent herself as a "worldbeat" artist, finding more than enough inspiration in Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Oumou Sangare to be concerned about narrowing her musical tastes in hopes of competing with Beyoncé or Taylor Swift. Uzuri weaves sitar, violin, cello, Japanese flutes and Middle Eastern percussion into passionate accompaniment for the bluesy growls and soaring coloratura riffs that give her songs their multiethnic flavor. On short a cappella pieces like "O, Woman," her melody flows from dark contralto to bright soprano in a circle-shout pattern drawing from both Celtic and African sources. The equally subtle "Beautiful" adds guitar, but it somehow evokes both a muezzin's call and a cantor's solo. Time spent with the Romany people of Hungary convinced Uzuri that she was not the only travelling musician who found such similarities exciting, and The Gypsy Diaries comes together like a sonic roadmap across space and time. Gypsy life serves as the underpinning metaphor for desire, loneliness, love, loss, spiritual yearning, and the way she wields it points the way toward a new, more expansive definition of "soul music."

Uzuri and her band had been ramping up to Friday night's album release party since 201,0 when she first tested some of this material on a Joe's Pub audience. (Her co-producer and guitarist Christian Ver Halen is at the center of The Rooftop, one of NYC's most dynamic indie-soul collectives.) As a bandleader, she has a remarkably syncretic ear, able to hear emotional concordances and tonal similarities between an amazing array of folk musics and instrumentation.

On Friday night she was joined onstage by most of the sidemen (and women) who helped create the new album, with cello and sometimes flute filling in for missing violin and vocal. Each member of her stellar quintet contributed brief improvisations throughout the set, and earned ample applause. But with so many friends and colleagues in the audience, the band didn't play the album straight through, which would have shown off its narrative flow and masterful sequencing to best effect. Instead, Imani worked the crowd like a pentacostal preacher, cracking jokes and pulling guest stars out of the audience for unrehearsed cameos; this disrupted the cohesive mood of the album and left no time for an encore. As a whole, The Gypsy Diaries could be transcendent concert music, but once the atmosphere changed from concert hall to house party, a bit of the magic this ensemble can invoke was lost.

Evening highlights included the Balkanized bolero "Meet Me at the Station" (introduced as "the sex song"), and a funk-rock rendition of "Gathering" in which the singer channels a young Miriam Makeba while bass guitarist Fred Cash reminded us why Jimi Hendrix formed the Band of Gypsies. Equally memorable were the Clark Sister affirmations on "I Sing the Blues" and the moment when Uzuri outed herself as a pantheist who practices every religion because "you never know what might work." When dancing, Uzuri underscored this point with a holy-roller shout, the Candomble shoulder shake, and a dancehall grind. Even her sitarist Neel Murgai shook a tail feather in the end, playing his daf barefoot while twirling like a Dervish. Only Marika Hughes's pizzicato and Kaoru Watanabe's eloquent flute moved me more.

Critical bias: My favorite jazz-fusion album from the '70s is Wayne Shorter's Native Dancer.

Overheard: "You look hot!" An audience member to Uzuri after she quipped that no one applauded her butt once her back was turned.

Random notebook dump: Three songs here would have slid completely towards the Jill Scott/Angie Stone/India Arie end of the spectrum, except for the fact that Uzuri likes to shift tempo several times in the same composition.

Set list: Beautiful Whisperings (We Are Whole) I Sing the Blues Meet Me At the Station Winter Song Gathering You Know Me You Love Me Soul Still Sings Dream Child I'm Ready/She Came Traveling

June in NY

I just returned from a week in the Bay Area where I was performing with Kenny Endo and giving various workshops and lessons. The great jazz drummer Akira Tana sat in on a tune as well as the saxophonist Masaru Koga. Thanks to Tommy, Roy and PJ, San Jose Taiko, Tatsumaki Taiko, Jimi Nakagawa's Oh-In Taiko, Rhythmix, Mui and Maikaze Daiko, Satsuki Bazaar, the I-Hotel, Jazz Heritage Center in San Francisco, the Tobase-Zimmerman family and all the others who were such great hosts, supporters and friends. Here's a video that my friends Tommy threw together last minute from a duo show Kenny and I did together. The piece is Together Alone, written for my wife Mari. http://youtu.be/Dd7bMwRMn7M

UPCOMING SHOWS:

JUNE 1st (FRI) Imani Uzuri 7:00 PM $15 in Advance; $18 at Door

The mysterious figure on the moonlit railway platform, the passerby on the dusty road are not strangers; they are friends and fellow travelers.

And to stunning vocalist and thoughtful, globally-inspired composer Imani Uzuri, they spark melodies and musical connections. With the beautiful growl of a blueswoman and the sweetness of a nightingale, Uzuri finds the deep ties that bind her rural Carolina roots to Eastern Europe and North Africa, that bind the purr of sitar strings and the ripple of Japanese folk flute to African-American traditions and the international arts underground.

Born of worldly travels and spiritual travails, Uzuri’s rich acoustic songs on The Gypsy Diaries find fresh settings for unifying human experiences: the loss of loved ones, the joy of discovering, the alienation and shifts of moving, meeting, and departing. Riveting live, Uzuri will celebrate her new album on June 1st at Joe's Pub at 7PM in New York.

The introspective, gentler companion to Uzuri’s high-voltage debut, Her Holy Water, on The Gypsy Diaries, Uzuri paints images of travel—the chance meeting, the surprise connection—and reflects in global tones on the nature of distance, love, and our shared, transcendent moments.

Featuring: Kaoru Watanabe (Japanese flute) Marika Hughes (cello) Christian Ver Halen (acoustic guitar) Todd Isler (percussion) Neel Murgai (sitar and daf) http://www.joespub.com/component/option,com_shows/task,view/Itemid,40/id,6162

June 13 (WED) With Chris Dingman, Matt Kilmer and Tim Keiper Zinc Bar 7 pm

The band combines traditions and influences from Japan, West Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas into one collective voice, to create music that is at once grooving, lyrical, and sonically rich, with dense percussive interludes and soundscapes giving way to deep grooves, poignant melodies, and visceral improvisations. Featuring a diverse instrumentation of Flutes, Vibraphone, Kamale Nguni, and Percussion, this band delivers gripping, original music like no other. http://zincbar.com/calendar/2012-06-13?mini=calendar%2F2012-06

WESLEYAN TAIKO PICS! Finally- here are some great shots from the final taiko concert at Wesleyan University. http://wesleying.org/2012/05/05/scenes-from-taiko-spring-concert/

Kaoru in SF!

I had a great week last week, performing at Jason and Alicia Hall Moran's epic residency, Bleed at the Whitney Museum as well as with Marika Hughes as part of the Jazz Shrines Festival. From here, I head to San Francisco for some performances and workshops. Looking forward to seeing all my Bay Area friends! May 19, 2012 Sat 8 pm (doors open 7:30 pm) SPOTLIGHT on THAT NIGHT (of the I-Hotel Eviction) Kenny Endo was there THAT NIGHT! A special benefit performance commemorating the 35th anniversary of the I-Hotel eviction featuring: Kenny Endo (taiko), Shoko Hikage (koto) Kaoru Watanabe from New York (bamboo flutes, taiko) Abe Lagrimas from Los Angeles (drumset, ukulele, percussion) Chizuko Endo (taiko, percussion) International Hotel Manilatown Center 868 Kearny Street San Francisco, CA 94108 Tickets: $10 payable at the door 50% of proceeds will benefit Manilatown Heritage Foundation

May 20, 2012 12 noon – 7 pm (performance time 3-4 pm ) Kenny Endo Ensemble performance at 63rd Annual Satsuki Bazaar & Arts Festival featuring: Kenny Endo (taiko), Shoko Hikage (koto) Kaoru Watanabe from New York (bamboo flutes, taiko) Abe Lagrimas from Los Angeles (drumset, ukulele, percussion) Chizuko Endo (taiko, percussion) ALSO performing at 1:30 pm is Jazz Great drummer AKIRA TANA and his band “Otonowa” Berkeley Buddhist Church 2121 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA 2012 Satsuki-eflyer

May 23, 2012 Wednesday 8 pm Improvisations with Kenny Endo (taiko set, odaiko, tsuzumi) and Kaoru Watanabe (fue, taiko) featuring: Kenny Endo (taiko), Kaoru Watanabe from New York (bamboo flutes, taiko) Jazz Heritage Center San Francisco, CA

Performances May 10, 11, 12

This is going to be an unforgettable week. My mother is driving up from St. Louis (about 18 hours) to perform with Alicia Hall Moran and me at the Whitney Museum. Performing with my mother and father is always a great joy - they were my first musical influences and it always feels as if we are coming full circle. This week we are busy with rehearsals, finishing up making new costumes and even staining some new drum stands that we'll be using. Thursday we'll be at the Whitney making music throughout the day. Friday evening I will perform with the cellist Marika Hughes and her band, Bottom Heavy. Marika, also happens to be a part of Alicia's Bleed show at the Whitney, performing with Adam Pendleton.

We will do a reprise of the taiko piece with Alicia on Saturday the 12th as well.

May 11th 7pm Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival The venue is on the 2nd Floor of the Magic Johnson Theater 2309 Frederick Douglass Blvd at 124th St (enter thru theater)

Marika Hughes & Bottom Heavy with special guest Kaoru Watanabe $10 (Will Calhoun & Band at 8pm)

www.marikahughes.com www.harlemjazzshrines.org

http://whitney.org/Events/AliciaHallMoranAndJasonMoranInResidenceDay2 href="http://whitney.org/Events/AliciaHallMoranAndJasonMoranInResidenceDay4">http://whitney.org/Events/AliciaHallMoranAndJasonMoranInResidenceDay4

2012 BIENNIAL RESIDENCIES ALICIA HALL MORAN AND JASON MORAN: BLEED SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012 11 AM–6 PM FOURTH FLOOR

For their Biennial residency, Alicia Hall Moran and Jason Moran present five days of live music, exploring the power of performance to cross barriers and challenge assumptions, as their title, BLEED, suggests. With a line-up of concerts and events spanning music, dance, theater, and literature, as well as an exhibition of past video collaborations with Glenn Ligon, Joan Jonas, Kara Walker, and Simone Leigh and Liz Magic Laser—and a new video by the cultural historian Maurice Berger—BLEED is a celebration of surprising synergy across the visual arts and music.

Connecticut Style!

Students of my advanced to taiko class at Wesleyan University recently performed on local Connecticut television.  They are performing a piece, sometimes known as "Together Alone", sometimes as "IchiRei". Most of the students are graduating this semester so this will be one of the last performances they do as Wesleyan students.

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/ct_style/stage-8-the-wesleyan-taiko-ensemble

Also, more information regarding Jason and Alicia Hall Moran's curated Whitney Biennial is out. We've been working hard on getting the music and the look together in preparation. This is not to be missed...

http://whitney.org/Events/AliciaHallMoranAndJasonMoranInResidenceDay2 href="http://whitney.org/Events/AliciaHallMoranAndJasonMoranInResidenceDay4">http://whitney.org/Events/AliciaHallMoranAndJasonMoranInResidenceDay4

2012 BIENNIAL RESIDENCIES ALICIA HALL MORAN AND JASON MORAN: BLEED SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012 11 AM–6 PM FOURTH FLOOR

For their Biennial residency, Alicia Hall Moran and Jason Moran present five days of live music, exploring the power of performance to cross barriers and challenge assumptions, as their title, BLEED, suggests. With a line-up of concerts and events spanning music, dance, theater, and literature, as well as an exhibition of past video collaborations with Glenn Ligon, Joan Jonas, Kara Walker, and Simone Leigh and Liz Magic Laser—and a new video by the cultural historian Maurice Berger—BLEED is a celebration of surprising synergy across the visual arts and music.

Article by Gamin (in Korea)

Weaving in the home

Mari, my wife has been doing a type of weaving called SAORI for about half a year now. After just months of going to a Saori studio on the Upper East Side called Loop of the Loom (http://loopoftheloom.com/) Mari now occasionally works at the studio, leading classes and workshops. Recently she bought a loom for use at home and she spends much of her time on weekends and in the evenings at the loom. She looks so peaceful while weaving. After a few hours, she shows me a beautiful scarf or a new case for my flutes. The colors are often subtle and shifting and always chosen with great care and feeling. She experiments with textures, thickness, tightness of weave and other factors that greatly effect the personality of each of her works. Seeing her devotion to the art and watching her work inspires me to be a better musician.

More soon...

Upcoming Performances

April 26th Workshop/Demonstration@Julliard 8 pm

April 30 GO:  ORGANIC ORCHESTRA “Murmuration” MUSIC COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY ADAM RUDOLPH  for 40 woodwind, brass, strings, percussion @NEW Roulette in BROOKLYN 509 Atlantic Ave (at 3rd Ave.) Brooklyn, NY 11217 $15 admission/Members, students, seniors: $10 Advance tickets:  www.roulette.org

May 4th Wesleyan University Taiko Concert Crowell Concert Hall 7-9 pm

May 5th Stony Brook Sakura Matsuri Kaoru Watanabe Taiko Center Ensemble all day event- KWTC taiko performance approx 3:00 pm http://matsuri.ryushukan.com/

May 10th, 12th Whitney Bienniel: BLEED Curated by Alicia Hall Moran and Jason Moran http://whitney.org/Events/AliciaHallMoranAndJasonMoranInResidence

art - JOAN JONAS, ADAM PENDLETON+LORRAINE O'GRADY, KARA WALKER, SIMONE LEIGH, LIZ MAGIC LASER, GLENN LIGON idea - CHARLES BLOW, AKIBA SOLOMON, MAURICE BERGER, GREG TATE, DREAM HAMPTON, RADICLANI CLYTUS, DAPHNE BROOKS, JOSSLYN LUCKETT, GUTHRIE RAMSEY body - RASHIDA BUMBRAY+ADENIKE SHARPLEY, MARGARET PAEK, LAMICHAEL LEONARD, GWEN ELLISON, JESSICA WOLF, JANE PAGE sound - ESPERANZA SPALDING, BILL FRISELL, BRANDON ROSS, GREG OSBY, TARUS MATEEN, THE BANDWAGON, AYAKO WATANABE, JAMIRE WILLIAMS, ABDOU M'BOUP, KAORU WATANABE, GILA GOLDSTEIN, LATASHA N. NEVADA DIGGS, RALPH ALESSI, MARVIN SEWELL, STEVEN HERRING and THOMAS FLIPPIN.

May 20th 2012 12 noon – 7 pm (performance time TBD) Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble performance at 63rd Annual Satsuki Bazaar & Arts Festival Kenny Endo (taiko), Shoko Hikage (koto) Kaoru Watanabe from New York (bamboo flutes, taiko) Abe Lagrimas from Los Angeles (drumset, ukulele, percussion) Chizuko Endo (taiko, percussion) Berkeley Buddhist Church 2121 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA

June 1st Imani Uzuri's Gypsy Diaries Joe's Pub http://www.joespub.com/component/option,com_artists/task,view/Itemid,40/id,318

June 12th Chris Dingman/Matt Kilmer/Tim Keiper and me@Zinc Bar

April~May 2012

In the last few weeks since I last posted here, I have been in New York teaching lots, performing some and generally doing a lot of prep work for various upcoming short and long term projects. Notable performances was a show with Kenny Endo, Patrick Graham, On Ensemble and members of Taiko Project at the East Coast Taiko Conference. Besides my usual classes at The Village@Gureje in Brooklyn, my weekly 5 hour commute to and from Wesleyan University, my private lessons (both in person and via skype) and working with my interns Patty and Evan, I've been doing some post-production stuff on an upcoming duo album I recorded with Kenny. We recorded in the summer of 2011 but we are still working on some editing, deciding on titles, album design etc. In coming up with names for pieces which were primarily improvisations, I begin by trying to feel what sort of mood they evoked within me when I listened back. Pondering such things, I found myself looking up mentions of the fue in classical Japanese literature which in turn took me on a much different journey than I had originally set out for. I found myself revisiting such works as Sei Shonagon's Makura No Soushi (The Pillow Book) or Murasaki Shikubu's Genji Monogatari (Tale of Genji). Reading the beautiful prose that fills the pages of these novels and imaging the daily lives of the characters that lived over a millennia ago, I try to imagine what THEIR fue sounded like, what sort of tone they were able to get when they played. The young Taira no Atsumori carried a fue onto the battlefield and even died with it on his person when he was beheaded by Kumagai Naozane. It is said that in the evening while all the warriors were resting from the days' fighting, both armies would find comfort in hearing the sound of his fue drifting in from the darkness. Three things happened the more I read about the events and personalities from the past- one, I wanted to read more. Two, I hoped that through playing the fue, I could somehow channel their voices and keep their legacy alive no matter how seemingly abstracted or distant the connection. Three, thoughts of writing a book, a notion that has been somewhere in the back of my mind for quite some time, re-emerge. The book idea is in response to people who are seeking instruction and information on the fue written in English and people who feel I have a compelling story- a Japanese American kid from St. Louis, MO eventually joining and even acting as one of the leaders of the acclaimed Japanese taiko group Kodo. At the risk of coming across as egotistical in that I feel I have a story worth telling, my primary motivation for writing about my experience is so that I don't forget all the experiences and people that have brought me to where I am today- starting with my parents and continuing with such iconic figures as Tamasaburo and members of Kodo.

Whether this book ever comes about or not, I figure it doesn't hurt to start writing thoughts down, whether regarding my current life or recollections of past experiences. I have been doing some very intermittent writing about some tours I have taken but I haven't spent much time writing about experiences over a year in the past, much less about things that happened over a decade ago.

Mari, my wife suggested I start a blog and then I realized, my website is a blog! It's all right there ready for me to begin in ernest!

In some ways, I consider this the first entry although in many ways I started writing posts in the kodo blog over ten years ago...

Anyway, I always welcome comments and thoughts.

Upcoming Performances

April 16, 30 GO:  ORGANIC ORCHESTRA “Murmuration” MUSIC COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY ADAM RUDOLPH  for 40 woodwind, brass, strings, percussion @NEW Roulette in BROOKLYN 509 Atlantic Ave (at 3rd Ave.) Brooklyn, NY 11217 $15 admission/Members, students, seniors: $10 Advance tickets:  www.roulette.org

April 26th Workshop/Demonstration@Julliard 8 pm

May 4th Wesleyan University Taiko Concert Crowell Concert Hall 7-9 pm

May 5th Stony Brook Sakura Matsuri Kaoru Watanabe Taiko Center Ensemble all day event- KWTC taiko performance approx 3:00 pm http://matsuri.ryushukan.com/

May 10th, 12th Whitney Bienniel: BLEED Curated by Alicia Hall Moran and Jason Moran Alicia Hall Moran "Motown Project" featuring my mother Ayako Watanabe KW Ensemble performance

May 20th 2012 12 noon – 7 pm (performance time TBD) Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble performance at 63rd Annual Satsuki Bazaar & Arts Festival Kenny Endo (taiko), Shoko Hikage (koto) Kaoru Watanabe from New York (bamboo flutes, taiko) Abe Lagrimas from Los Angeles (drumset, ukulele, percussion) Chizuko Endo (taiko, percussion) Berkeley Buddhist Church 2121 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA

June 1st Imani Uzuri's Gypsy Diaries Joe's Pub http://www.joespub.com/component/option,com_artists/task,view/Itemid,40/id,318

June 12th Chris Dingman/Matt Kilmer/Tim Keiper and me@Zinc Bar

Greetings from Buenos Aires

Mari and I have been enjoying ourselves immensely, exploring the San Telmo, Recoleta, la Boca and Palermo districts and the Malba museum, watching Tango, eating millanesas, chorizo, empanada, dulce de leche, sipping on mate and washing it all down with local wine and beer.  Our hosts from Shinzui Daiko and their friends have been nothing but helpful and accommodating.  Rehearsing and workshops every evening followed by dinner (people here usually eat usually around nine or later).  We're preparing for two performances happening this weekend, one in the Japanese Garden on Sunday and another at the Globe Theater on Monday.  Tuesday, we will begin our journey home, arriving just in time on Wednesday to host my good friend Patrick Graham giving a workshop at my studio. Here are some upcoming events:

March 28th Patrick Graham taiko and chappa workshop@KWTC A close friend and excellent percussionist from Montreal, Patrick will be teaching katsugi okedo techniques and introductory chappa techniques for all levels. Patrick is an incredibly knowledgable and generous instructor- I try to take lessons with him every chance I get. http://patrickgrahampercussion.com/

March 29th Performance at Zebulon with Patrick Graham, Shoji Kameda (from Hiroshima and On Ensemble) http://zebuloncafeconcert.com/

March 30- April 2nd I'll be teaching and performing at the East Coast Taiko Conference http://easterntaiko2012.wordpress.com/

April 5th Thursday 9 pm Imani Uzuri@The Jazz Gallery $20/$10 for members http://jazzgallery.org/html/itinerary.php

April 2, 9, 16, 30 GO:  ORGANIC ORCHESTRA “Murmuration” MUSIC COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY ADAM RUDOLPH  for 40 woodwind, brass, strings, percussion @NEW Roulette in BROOKLYN 509 Atlantic Ave (at 3rd Ave.) Brooklyn, NY 11217 $15 admission/Members, students, seniors: $10 Advance tickets:  www.roulette.org

March and April activities

Hello friends! Besides my weekly trips to Wesleyan University where I'm teaching three taiko classes and my ongoing biweekly taiko classes at The Village@Gureje in Prospect Heights, here are some upcoming and ongoing performances in my life:

You Don't Know Where Her Mouth Has Been@The Kitchen Please check out Simone Leigh's exhibition, with my musical score at the Kitchen until March 11th. I am very proud of this show and strongly encourage people to visit. If you find yourself in the neighborhood please stop in- it's free and will only take you 5 to 10 (or 60 depending) minutes to take it all in. http://www.thekitchen.org/event/292/0/1/

March 7th Radio appearance with Belinda Becker I'll be appearing with incredible dj/dancer Belinda Becker on her weekly radio show from 6 to 8 pm. http://www.radiolily.com/

March 15th through the 27th ARGENTINA! I will be traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina in order to perform and teach workshops. Thanks to Gaston San Cristobal, Shinzui Daiko and the countless others who have been instrumental in getting me down there!

March 28th Patrick Graham taiko and chappa workshop@KWTC A close friend and excellent percussionist from Montreal, Patrick will be teaching katsugi okedo techniques and introductory chappa techniques for all levels. Patrick is an incredibly knowledgable and generous instructor- I try to take lessons with him every chance I get! http://patrickgrahampercussion.com/

March 29th Taiko and fue performance at Zebulon- special guests TBA

March 30- April 2nd I'll be teaching and performing at the East Coast Taiko Conference http://easterntaiko2012.wordpress.com/

April 2, 9, 16, 30 Go:Organic Orchestra@Roulette Adam Rudolph's large ensemble will be in residency at the Roulette again. http://www.metarecords.com/go.html

Simone Leigh and Chitra Ganesh@The Kitchen

I am honored and privileged to be collaborating with artists Simone Leigh and Chitra Ganesh for an installation at the Kitchen. I visited the show the other day.

Simone's ceramic and glass sculptures were majestic and powerful, some suspended by steel cables from the ceiling. The work was mesmerizing and the music, in all modesty, does a pretty decent job of distilling the somewhat intense and dark mood of the pieces into sound. All in all, I feel Simone's works and my music worked in harmony to create the experience of being enveloped by the sound and space.

Please visit the gallery and let me know what you think!

Simone Leigh: You Don’t Know Where Her Mouth Has Been Curated by Rashida Bumbray

This solo exhibition presents the New York premiere of Simone Leigh’s most recent sculptural explorations of materiality, women’s work, and Afrofuturism. Leigh is known for her archaic, anthropomorphic forms in porcelain, terracotta, tobacco, glass, and steel that employ early African ceramic techniques to evoke contemporary parallels and underlying social and economic conditions. For You Don’t Know Where Her Mouth Has Been, Leigh draws from a diverse range of influences, from early African-American face jugs and the manifesto of Africobra to Star Trek and Gilbert and Sullivan in order to evocatively explore the slippages between the multifarious cultural, political, and colonial histories that have laid claim to marginalized bodies.

In conjunction with the exhibition, a special event takes place in the theater on Monday, February 13, 7pm.

512 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011 (212) 255-5793 Exhibition Hours: Tues–Fri, 12-6pm; Sat 11–6pm FREE

Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Chitra Ganesh

February 16th@the Lincoln Center Atrium and ongoing at the Kitchen

February 16th ThursdayImani Uzuri’s The Gypsy Diaries The concert is free.

Imani Uzuri’s The Gypsy Diaries with Marika Hughes, cello; Christian Ver Halen, acoustic guitar; and Kaoru Watanabe, Japanese flute Vocalist/composer Imani Uzuri offer selections from her forthcoming new album The Gypsy Diaries, a lyrical spiritual soundscape, featuring vocals, violin, cello, acoustic guitar, Japanese flute, sitar and daf. Recently featured in The New York Times, Uzuri is an eclectic artist who creates and performs across various genres, including concerts, experimental theater, recordings, visual/ performance art and sound installations. Uzuri’s nomadic world travels to places from Morocco to Moscow and her interest in sacred music and experimentation is reflected in her various projects including her critically acclaimed debut album Her Holy Water: A Black Girl’s Rock Opera and in her collaborations with diverse artists such as Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Vijay Iyer, Wangechi Mutu, Sanford Biggers and Robert Ashley. Television appearances include David Letterman, BET and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots. New York Magazine has called her work “stunning.” http://new.lincolncenter.org/live/index.php/atrium-the-nick-rolfe-project-and-imani-uzuri

Simone Leigh: You Don’t Know Where Her Mouth Has Been Open until March 11th

I recently collaborated with artists SImone Leigh and Chitra Ganesh for their installation at the Kitchen. A friend said I should describe it as a sound installation. The work features the fue, taiko and other percussion. I am very proud of this work and hope as many of you are able to see it as possible. It's free to the enter and will take just a few moments out of your day to visit, so if you are anywhere in the Chelsea area, please drop in any time between

This solo exhibition presents the New York premiere of Simone Leigh’s most recent sculptural explorations of materiality, women’s work, and Afrofuturism. Leigh is known for her archaic, anthropomorphic forms in porcelain, terracotta, tobacco, glass, and steel that employ early African ceramic techniques to evoke contemporary parallels and underlying social and economic conditions. For You Don’t Know Where Her Mouth Has Been, Leigh draws from a diverse range of influences, from early African-American face jugs and the manifesto of Africobra to Star Trek and Gilbert and Sullivan in order to evocatively explore the slippages between the multifarious cultural, political, and colonial histories that have laid claim to marginalized bodies.

Exhibition Hours: Tues–Fri, 12-6pm; Sat 11–6pm FREE http://www.thekitchen.org/event/292/0/1/

January / February 2012

Hello friends! NY is enjoying an unusually warm January- one of the few benefits of climate change I suppose.

I just returned from a great trip to France but am already looking ahead to a busy few months coming up. Besides regular taiko classes in Brooklyn and another semester at Wesleyan beginning very soon, I will be hosting a weekend long taiko intensive this weekend, will be traveling to Texas for a performance, teaching workshops at Cornell University and Teachers College, performing around NY, as well as preparing for a trip to Buenos Aires for more performances and workshops. I hope to see you all soon in the New Year...

January 27-29 KWTC Taiko Intensive - The Village@Gureje info at taikonyc.com

February 7th and 8th: Performances with Kenny Endo and On Ensemble @A&M University