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Kaoru will be creating the music for a new dance piece, Lenora Lee and Elaine Wang with guest Mina Nishimura in Chinatown from October 18th through the 20th at 7:30 pm. Please see the images below for details.
(click thumbnails to see large images)
Earth Celebration '07 August 17th, 18th and 19thAn account of the three days of concerts
For me personally, Earth Celebration was a whirlwind of emotions; a desperate grappling of euphoria and despair, an icy coldness trying to blanket an overriding anxiousness and endless, fervent praying. Come to think of it, maybe it's like this every year for me as Artistic Director and maybe that's a sign that I'm doing something wrong! Nonetheless, I always feel that I'm a sort of Atlas trying to carry the world on my shoulders- that I'm using physical and emotional will to make this thing work. To make it happen.
Of course, what really makes it happen are the great people on stage who produce all those wonderful sounds and create those beautiful images, the backstage crew who thanklessly make sure the cogs are greased and mashing away together seamlessly, the staff and volunteers who make sure people and things get to where they need to go, when they need to- and provide as much comfort as possible throughout. I know it's definitely not me that makes things happen but there are moments when it feels that way.
During the first day's concert the mood was very relaxed. Rehearsals had gone well and it seemed everyone was able to remember the feelings and emotions to be expressed in the individual pieces, the timing and intensity of the transitions, all while retaining the overall flow of the concert. Since I was only playing in one piece, I decided to let go of the reigns and not get too involved. I ended up watching most of the concert from the audience - and enjoying it!
The second day for me had a little more tension- there were some technical and personnel issues, that occurred on many fronts including things seemingly unrelated to the stage- that allowed for some potentially very beautiful elements of the evening to not quite bloom as I hoped they would. Of course the performers and staff were ALL models of professionalism, each displaying his or her craft with the utmost grace and elegance, but there had also been a random series of unfortunate turns of events that somewhat diminished the results of what my expectations to the evening were. I still consider the concert a success though and feel that it offered the usually excitable Earth Celebration audience an opportunity to relax under the beautiful crescent moon hanging in the sky and be immersed in the sounds of meditative Indian ragas and plaintive Okinawan melodies.
The morning of the third concert came and I vowed to myself that none of the various little problems that plagued the second day would effect the third concert. To take it a step further I literally told myself that I was going to make things work- even if I had to give my life for it! To do it with the intent that this was the last thing I was going to do on Earth! I look back on it now and think: Such drama! But that's what weeks of inadequate sleep and high levels of stress do I suppose. Anyway, since the afternoon rehearsal was the first time all the performers actually gathered on stage together I knew that what we were able to accomplish during that rehearsal was crucial.
Fortunately things went as well as could be expected in the afternoon. Then came the actual concert. There were many guest artists involved this year and I wanted to not only feature each one but to have interesting musical combinations between them and with Kodo. In order to generate a large wave of energy and tension that would somehow give a sense of continuity to the disparate songs, I decided to structure part of the concert as a series of pieces that were linked with very quick transitions that used Kumada's lighting artistry to instantly draw the audience's eye from one story to the next.
This meant that performers often had to set up and prepare to play a piece before the previous piece was finished, in a darkened part of the stage. And that's why we have a very capable back stage crew to give the performers cues for when to go on stage. However, since so many of the performers don't speak Japanese, and since in most cases they had to be reminded not just when to go, but what piece to play, at what point to start, what was coming next and how to finish- I took it upon myself to rush around backstage during the show- literally running back and forth between stage left, stage right and to the back of center stage (where there were stairs for entrances)- to personally explain to each guest performer what was happening.
By the end of the show, after all those transitions came off flawlessly (and after what I hear were some amazing performances) by the time the final note of the grand finale came, my feelings of relief were almost overwhelming. Everybody was onstage playing and after having drawn out the second to last note forever, I conducted, with abandon, that last note with a big up and down jump- I leapt as high into the air as I could so that I could savor that feeling of euphoria- to stretch out that feeling, and time along with it forever. I distinctly remember looking down at the stage during that leap and wondering if I was ever going to come back down.
The Untitled Concert- an evening of experimental music and dance
(click thumbnail to see large image)
Shoji Kameda - taiko/electronics June Kuramoto - koto Cynthia Lee - dance Chris Spilsbury - guitar Kaoru Watanabe - fue
Friday September 21st, 8:00pm Tickets: $10 at door Marina Sound Group 4121 Redwood Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90066
After a triumphant premiere of RESONANCE at Roppongi's SuperDeluxe, flutist Kaoru Watanabe will be performing in a very intimate setting, a small jazz spot called "In F" in Ooizumi Gakuen. This time, Kaoru will be playing with the bass and contra bass flutist Toru Tenda. The contra bass flute, for those of you have never seen one, is taller than a person and plays two octaves below a "standard" flute- a somewhat unusual instrument with a fascinating sound.
Although not set yet, there will most likely be a special guest on taiko performing as well. Please come by!
Tenda's website (in Japanese only) http://homepage.mac.com/torutenda/
When: September 14 (Friday) 8 pm
Where: In F Ooizumi Gakuen station off of the Seibu Ikebukuro line 5 minutes walk from the North Exit phone: 03-3925-6967
How much: 3,000 yen not including food and drinks
In F's website: http://homepage2.nifty.com/in-f/
(9.13.2007) Tetsuro Naito of the Japanese Taiko player will come on stage and join us tommorow. Don't miss it!
Thank you to everyone who came to RESONANCE at SuperDeluxe. I felt a lot of love in the audience that night and the energy was palpable. People, including the performers in many ways, didn't know quite what to expect- but it didn't seem there were too many people disappointed by the end of the night. For me, it was probably one of the most gratifying performances in my life. I was able to incorporate elements of jazz, free jazz, Brazilian music, spoken word, electronics, Japanese Noh and Minyou, performance art, live painting, contemporary dance, interactive stage art, etc etc into a somewhat surprisingly symbiotic concert. The artists I gathered together all contributed so much to the show and each beautifully held his/her own like the true artists they are.
Thank you to the artists, all the volunteers, Mike and SuperDeluxe, Yamano san, and especially Eri chan for all the invaluable support!
I will post photographs and video as soon as they are ready.
Kaoru Watanabe’s RESONANCEfeaturing Tamango, Koji Kakinuma X Mio Matsuda + Hiromichi Sakamoto Stage art by D.H.Rosen
New York based flute/fue player Kaoru Watanabe brings together some old friends for RESONANCE, an intimate music/ dance/ art experience at Roppongi's SuperDeluxe August 31st at 8pm. With Victor Records recording artist Mio Matsuda, cellist Hiromichi Sakamoto, Japanese calligrapher Koji Kakinuma, ceramics artist D.H.Rosen and featuring the masterful tap dancer Tamango.
Date&Time: August 31st,2007 at 20:00 (19:30open) Place: Roppongi's SuperDeluxe www.super-deluxe.com Fee: advance 3500Yen, regular4000Yen
To make reservations, please visit the SuperDeluxe website http://www.super-deluxe.com or our mobile site http://www.sdlx.jp. To reserve via FAX, include the name and date of the event / your name / number of reservations / your TEL number / and FAX to us at 03-5412-0516. Reservation deadline is 6PM the day before the event.
The annual World Music festival "Earth Celebration 20th Anniversary Concert" presented by the internationally acclaimed taiko ensemble KODO. Date: August 17,18 and 19th Place: Niigata Prefecture, Sado Island
featuring: Zakir Hussein (Tabla) Yosuke Yamashita (jazz piano) Giovanni Hildago (conga) Tamango (tap dance) Takako Sato (Okinawa Classical Dance) Mio Matsuda (vocals) KODO
Earth Celebration offical website:
http://www.kodo.or.jp/ec/index_e.html
