There was something quintessentially Japanese about the performance, but I also saw in it an example of the potentiality of humanity-a perfect balance of mind, body, and soul. During that time, I saw Kodo perform at Carnegie Hall and was moved to tears by the combination of the high level of musicality, the superhuman precision, and sheer physical intensity of the performance. I wanted to know first-hand about festival and theater music that I had only heard on CDs. In 1997, I was a member of Soh Daiko, a taiko group here in New York and was getting more and more drawn to the idea of going to Japan to study this music at its source. The work I do now on these instruments draws heavily from theater and festival traditions while integrating improvisation's rich structures and the complexities of jazz and other music, so abundant in New York City. My background in classical and jazz music strongly influences how I approach composing for and performing on taiko and shinobue.
#Japanese taiko percussion mac free#
The use of the taiko and shinobue (bamboo flutes) outside of the context of traditional festival and theater is a relatively new thing, so people are basically free to do what they want with them musically. I moved to Japan after graduating college in order to study Japanese music and get to know more about my cultural heritage. I grew up playing western flute and went to Manhattan School of Music as a jazz flute and saxophone player. My parents were both musicians in the St. What instruments do you play? Where did you receive your training? How does your varied musical background lend itself to the work you do with the more traditional medium of taiko? I was 11 years old and had basically no knowledge of Japanese culture at the time, but stuck with it up through high school. How did you initially get involved with taiko?Ī man named Daihachi Oguchi, who-in post-war Japan, was responsible for taking the taiko drums out of the festival and theater traditions and creating a new form of taiko drum ensemble-came to my hometown of St.
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