2010

winter

• Performances with Bella Gaia at Drom, Voices of the Silk Road@American Museum of Natural History, Taiko Workshop/performance@DromNYC, workshops and performances at Princeton University

2009

fall

• Performances with On Ensemble (Miles Playhouse in LA), Bella Gaia Ensemble (Monkeytown, DROM NYC), with Alicia Hall Moran (The Kitchen, NYC), NakaNaka Ensemble, Samble (Belinda Becker, Sheila Anzonier, Khoomei Taiko Ensemble (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Kennedy Center, Symphony Space, Town Hall Seattle, etc), workshops in Seattle, NY, Boston, DC, Princeton University, etc. NakaNaka series: Nominjin, Naito Tetsuro,

summer

• Performances with Kenny Endo in Vancouver, LA; with Adam Rudolf and Tatsuya Nakatani at the Rubin Museum of Art; with Matt Moran; duo with Ty Citerman; with On Ensemble in LA; RESONANCE II in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, performances with Tanaka Yumiko, Sakamoto Hiromichi, Isso Yukihiro, Ota Keisuke, Yoshigaki Yasuhiro,etc in Japan workshops in LA, Tokyo, Kyoto, etc.

spring

• Performances with Kodo, Adam Rudolph, Brahim Fribgane, and Dende@Drom; at Stony Brook Sakura Matsuri, Washington DC Sakura Matsuri, with Bonten at Cornell University, On Ensemble in LA, Yoshikazu and Yoko from Kodo at Drom; with Kenny Endo at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

winter

• Performances with Tamango at Town Hall; with On Ensemble in NYC; with Patrick Graham, Ben Grossman and Tomomi Moritomo, Oguri, Tatsuya Nakatani and Michel Doneda @Farmlab in LA

2008

fall

• Performances with Kenny Endo in Jamaica and Nicaragua; with Tatsuya Nakatani and Kenta Nagai@Zebulon; with Tamango at The Kitchen; workshops in Ottawa;
  summer
  • Performances:  at the Cave Gallery with Tatsuya Nakatani, at Brooklyn Music Wide Open with Adam Rudolph’s Go Organic Orchestra, at the Stone (NYC) with Tatsuya and Adam Rudolph, at Zebulon with Tatsuya, at the Stone with Sarah Shoenbeck and Rubin Radding, with Eri Yamamoto, with Lee and Wang Dance and Kenny Endo in NY, SF, LA,

  spring

  • Performances:  Town Hall in Seattle with Kenny Endo, Chieko Kojima, and Susumu Yamagami (great fue, shakuhachi and shamisen player from Aomori.), with Adam Rudolph’s Go Organic Orchestra in Roulette (NYC), with Kenny Endo in Philadelphia, Harper College, Oberlin College, the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC, (with Masayo Ishigure, etc), in Maryland, Zebulon in Brooklyn, at Drom (NYC) (with Kiku Enomoto, Mike York, Trina Basu, Stuart Popejoy, Sarah Bernstein), Stony Brook Sakura Matsuri, with Patrick Graham and Tomomi Moritomo
  • Trio Watanabe family tour in JAPAN – performances in Tokyo
    (SuperDeluxe) and Sado (Hananoki and at various elementary, middle and high schools)

  winter

  • Tour with “Hanayui”, a trio of three women from Kodo, dancer Chieko Kojima, singer Yoko Fujimoto and Okinawa Classical dancer Mitsue Kinjo.  Performances and workshops in Seattle, JACCC (LA), San Jose, Rhythmix (Allameda), Portland (with Portland Taiko), Grass Valley University, etc.
  • Performance with Koji Kakinuma at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.  With Tatsuya Nakatani.

  2007

  Fall

  • Performed with June Kuramoto, Cynthia Lee, Chris Spilsbury and Shoji Kameda in Los Angeles
  • Performed with Adam Rudolph’s Go Orchestra at Roulette in NYC
  • Recorded with Alicia Hall Moran and Jason Moran
  • Performed with Elaine Wang, Lenora Lee, Mina Nishimura for Ear To The Ground at the Mulberry Street Theater
  • Started a weekly taiko workshop at Teachers College

  summer

  • guest appearance with Los Angeles’ On Ensemble
  • special appearance in AMATERASU in Tokyo’s Kabukiza with Bando Tamasaburo
  • Artistic Director of Earth Celebration ’07 with guests Yamashita Yosuke, Zakir Hussein, Dilshad Khan Tamango, Mio Matsuda, Sato Takako
  • Kaoru Watanabe presents “Resonance” at Roppongi’s Super Deluxe with Tamango, Mio Matsuda, Sakamoto Hiromichi, D.H. Rosen, guest appearance by Kakinuma Koji

  spring

  • various performances with Kuroda Kyoko, Umezu Katsutoki, Yagi Michiyo, Mio Matsuda, Tamango’s Urban Tap, Zulsar (mongolian Khoomi throat singing), Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble, Kakinuma Koji, Jun Kuramoto
  • Workshops in NYC, Washington DC, Winnipeg
  • guest performer of dance company PAL in Taiwan

  winter

  • KASA performance/ workshop tour with Chieko Kojima from Kodo (Honolulu, Maui, Los Angeles, San Jose, St. Louis, Winnipeg, Minneapolis, Boston, NYC.   Performances with Kenny Endo Ensemble, Shoji Kameda, Hinode Taiko, Zenshin Daiko)
  • Artistic Director and guest performer of special Kodo appearance at NYC’s Joe’s Pub featuring Kakinuma Koji , Belinda Becker and Tamango

  2006

  fall

  • leaves Kodo, moves back to NYC
  • various performances with Yutaro Nagao, Sakamoto Hiromichi (cello), Yayagi Hiasko (Nihon Buyo), Naito Tetsuro (taiko), SUJI (tap dance)Princeton University with Kakinuma Koji (calligrapher) and Toruyama Take (percussion), “Kaoru with Friends”, “Mitsue with Friends” concerts in Sado

  summer

  • Artistic Director of Earth Celebration ’06 with guests Tamango with Urban Tap

  spring

  • “AMATERASU” with Bando Tamasaburo in Tokyo’s Setagaya Public Theater and in Kyoto’s Minamiza
  • Yuka Yamamoto”s “OTO GA SHIMA” concert with Sakamoto Hiromichi, Shanir Blumenkrantz, Marcus Soto, Taka Imaizumi, Johnny Wales, Mitue Wakabayashi, etc

  2005

  • “SHIMA MUSUBI” concert with Okinawa Classical Dance master Takako Sato in Okinawa.
  • Kodo’s “Prism Rhythm” CD.  Records composition “TSUKIYONO” for CD

  2004

  • Kodo European Tour, Japan Tours
  • Travelled to Ireland, France and Spain for documentary with Tsuruta Mayu and Kaneko Ryutaro in correlation with the Aichi World Expo.  Performance with Antonio el Pipa (flamenco dancer)

  2003

  • KODO European Tour, Japan Tours.
  • “One Earth Tour Special” directed by Bando Tamasaburo.  Performances in Tokyo, Nagoya, Niigata, Osaka, Sado
  • Appearance on Beat Takeshi’s “DAREDEMO PICASSO”

  2002

  • KODO US Tour, Japan Tours, performances at the World Cup opening and closing ceremonies
  • “GOSHACHU” with Komuro Hitoshi performances

  2001

  • European Tour, Japan Tours, performance at the Nobel Peace Prize Awards Concert

  2000

  • Becomes full time performing member of Kodo-  US Tours Japan Tours.  Performances with Ei Rokusuke
  • Jason Moran’s “Black Stars” Blue Note Records (uncredited) with Sam Rivers, Taurus Mateen, Nasheet Waits
  • Composes song “WATARU” for Kodo’s “Mondo Head” produced by Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart

  1998 – 1999

  • Apprenticeship at the Kodo Cultural Foundation in Sado.  Studies traditional taiko, traditional folk dance (Onikenbai, Kurokawa Sana, Sado Ondeko, Ogi Okesa!), Tea Ceremony, Noh, Kyogen, grow rice, runs

  1997

  • Graduates from Manhattan School of Music- BA flute and saxophone jazz perfomance
  • Stefon Harris “Cloud of Red Dust” Blue Note Records recording with Steve Turre, Greg Osby, Steve Wilson, Duane Burno
  • Moves to Japan.  Briefly studies Edo Matsuri Taiko with Kiyosuke Suzuki, Taiko at the Nihon Taiko Dojo with Tosha Kiyonari, Noh Kan with Matsuda Hirokyuki

  1993

  • Graduates from Interlochen Arts Academy, classical flute major

  1975 – 1992

  Childhood of skateboarding, playing flute, reading comic books, watching tv, occasionally sailing,

  1975

  July 3rd born St. Louis, MO.  Parents Ayako and Haruka of Tokyo.  Musicians in St. Louis Symphony Orchestra preceded a year and a half by brother Hideki