July Performances & New Studio

July 13 | 7:30pm So Percussion and The Joshua Light Show @ River to River Festival Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, 3 Spruce Street, New York

Mixed Media, Music Co-presented with Pace University  Warning: strobe lights and loud noises

So Percussion and legendary performance visualists The Joshua Light Show collaborate to create a closing event to remember! So Percussion performs works of their own from Amid the Noise, Imaginary City, and Where (we) Livealong with special guests Grey Mcmurray (guitar, vocals), Angelica Negron (accordion, toy instruments), Kaoru Watanabe (flute, taiko drum), Cenk Ergun (electronics), Dan Trueman (fiddle), and others.

July 20 | 12:30 AM Late Night Groove Series: Motions @ Blue Note 131 W. 3rd St, New York, NY

FEATURING: Chris Dingman, vibraphone Tim Keiper, ngoni, percussion Matt Kilmer, percussion Kaoru Watanabe, fue, flute 

The four members of the Brooklyn-based collective Motions, combine the rhythms, timbres and melodies from their extensive and diverse musical backgrounds - traditional and contemporary musics from Japan, Mali, the Middle East, Brazil and the US to create a unified sound that is both eclectic and organic. The music seamlessly ranges from abstract improvisation to heavy groove, highlighting the flavors and qualities of the different instruments while celebrating their universality.

Showtime: 12:30AM Doors Open at 12:00AM $10 (bar or table)

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New Studio!

In other news, Kaoru Watanabe Taiko Center has found a new home in Brooklyn and the studio is now all set up and ready for classes and rehearsals! Read more here and stay updated at www.taikonyc.com. Also check out pictures from the build-out process on the KWTC facebook album here.

June 24: Double Bill @ ShapeShifter Lab

 

Two groups led by Kaoru Watanabe in a double bill.

For the first performance of the new ensemble, Bloodlines, the individual musicians in the quartet have been working together to create a musical collage representing anecdotes from our family histories. The resulting music is at once intensely personal while celebrating the commonalities people have shared over generations, countries and cultures. One piece begins with a musical representation of the sound of my grandfather's walking stick in postwar Japan as he takes his morning stroll to the sake and tofu shops down the street and ends with an evening of drinking with geisha. Cellist Marika Hughes shares with us the story of her great-aunt escaping the Nazis during WWII, bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck's recalls a song her grandmother used to sing in Aberdeen, South Dakota and percussionist Keita Ogawa recounts observing stars through a telescope as his father played the harmonica on the family farm miles from the nearest neighbors in rural Nagasaki. The rehearsals for Bloodlines have been equal parts playing and discussing musical structure and simply sharing these stories with each other and conceiving ways to sculpt them into music.

The Kaoru Watanabe Ensemble re-creates Japanese matsuri (festival) music re-contextualized and reworked for the 21st Century. Inspired by a wide variety of traditional Japanese music and their role within society to strengthen peoples' connection to the past, this music aims to retain the feeling of nostalgia and euphoria found in matsuri, while drawing from the contemporary musical forms that embody the spirit of today.

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8:15 Bloodlines Kaoru Watanabe - Japanese and Western Flutes Marika Hughes- cello Sara Schoenbeck - basson Keita Ogawa - percussion

9:30 Ne-O Ensemble Kaoru Watanabe - taiko and Japanese flutes Sumie Kaneko- koto, shamisen Barbara Merjan - taiko and percussion

Cover: $12 for both shows

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Monday, June 24th Shapeshfiter lab 18 Whitwell Place Brooklyn, NY 11215, USA Tel: +1.646.820.9452

Facebook event page.

June Performances

Here are some of Kaoru’s performances this month! Hope to see you there: Wednesday, June 5th Silk Road Project “I’m excited to be working with the Silk Road Project again (the first time was a few years ago when they were doing a residency at the Natural History Museum) in an educational performance in a school in Queens.” – Kaoru

Tuesday, June 18th Kaoru Watanabe with So Percussion @ River to River Festival 1pm – 4pm: Open Rehearsal with Kaoru Watanabe 5pm – 6pm Work-in-Process showing with Kaoru Watanabe Pier 17 Storefront, South Street Seaport, New York.

Friday, June 21st, 8pm Blue Note Jazz Festival @ the Highline Ballroom Alicia Hall Moran and the Motown Project Jason Moran – piano Steven Herring – baritone Tarus Mateen – bass Tomas Flippin- guitar Kaoru Watanabe – taiko

6:00pm Doors open 8:00pm Showtime Tickets $25 in advance, $30 day of show 431 W 16th St, New York, NY 10011

Monday, June 24th Shapeshifter Lab: Double Bill 8:15pm: Bloodlines Kaoru Watanabe – Japanese and western flutes Sara Schoenbeck – bassoon Marika Hughes – cello Keita Ogawa – percussion

9:30pm: Ne-O Ensemble Kaoru Watanabe- Japanese flutes, taiko Sumie Kaneko – koto, shamisen, vocals Barbara Merjan- taiko and percussion

$12 cover for both shows 18 Whitewell Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Friday, June 28th, 7:30pm Kaoru Watanabe and Sumie Kaneko @ Regattabar (Boston) World Music Singer, Koto & Shamisen Player Sumie Kaneko’s J-Trad & more is based in NYC, creates one-and-only blending arts. Her music has been recognized as a uniquely chromatic uses of the instruments, blending the folk and traditional of Japan with contemporary improvisational and experimental Jazz.

Kaoru Watanabe- Fue, Taiko Michel Reis- Piano Yoshiki Yamada- Bass Pablo Eluchans- Drums, Percussions Tickets: $16 Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Performances this week at ShapeShifter Lab (NYC)

Monday, May 20th @ ShapeShifter Lab (NYC)GO:  ORGANIC ORCHESTRA COMPOSED AND IMPROVISATIONALLY CONDUCTED BY ADAM RUDOLPH 42 musicians

8:00 PM open rehearsal/concert (public welcome) 9:00 PM concert $15 for both sets http://www.shapeshifterlab.com/portfolio/may-20-go-organic-orchestra/

Wednesday, May 22th @ Shapeshifter Lab (NYC) SKYE STEELE’S RAILROAD RODIA + CAT TOREN DOUBLE BILL

$10 cover 7:00p 8:00p

Skye Steele — violin Kaoru Watanabe — flutes & percussion Kyle Sanna — guitar John Hadfield — drums Chris Tordini — bass http://www.shapeshifterlab.com/portfolio/may-22-skye-steeles-railroad-rodia/

Spring 2013 Update

So far, 2013 has been a chain of back to back traveling/performing/teaching engagements followed by long lulls during which I wonder if my career has come to an end, followed by more runs of intense and prolonged bursts of creative effort and exhaustion.  Recently, I performed at Brooklyn's ShapeShifter Lab (one of my favorite places in NY) with the great Adam Rudolph leading a large ensemble of some really fantastic NYC musicians.  The night before I had a somewhat cathartic couple of sets at Cornelia Street Cafe with Motions- a quartet that I've been a part of for a few years now.  The day before that was a taiko/fue performance at the Stony Brook Sakura Matsuri and the day before THAT was spent doing final prep for and then putting on the semester ending taiko and fue concert at Wesleyan University.  The students made t-shirts for the concert that had "Wesleyan University Spring 2013 Taiko Concert" on the front and inexplicably an image of my face on the back.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't honored and moved by the gesture while feigning a dismissive air of disapproval.

Wesleyan University Spring 2013 Taiko Concert T-shirts

During all of this I was still recovering from jet lag after a weeklong journey to Japan (more on that in a moment). I usually like to spend as much time as I can over there but could only squeeze in one week due to the Wesleyan concert and a performance at a Gala event for the Settlement Music School where Philadelphia's Kyo Daiko and I performed my piece Hiraki that took place the evening before I flew to Tokyo.

So... Japan.  For me, Japan is a barometer for where I am in life.  Most of my family is there as are the origins of my cultural heritage, and I spent many transformative years there.  However, because I don't live there anymore, going back gives me an objective view of where I am in life.  Going to Japan gives me a mirror so I can see my ability to interact with people, my comfort in navigating unfamiliar waters, how attuned I am to the significance of people, places, things and moments.

The first few days in Japan, I spent visiting with family and friends as well as with some of the most important people to me in my professional life: the people who create the instruments I play.  Yoshihiko Miyamoto is the head of the Miyamoto Unosuke, one of Japan's most respected taiko makers while Ranjo is a craftsman who has been making bamboo flutes (or shinobue) from dawn till dusk, every single day for almost forty years.  Although these two men are very different in most regards- Mr. Miyamoto is a cosmopolitan Tokyo-ite, educated in London and almost always in a tailored suit while Ranjo lives deep in the countryside in Chiba prefecture, sitting on the floor of his studio, perpetually covered in sawdust and urushi lacquer- I find our conversations invariably end up being about sound.  Whether discussing the taiko or fue, it requires the utmost discipline for a player to create a tone from the instrument that holds equal parts power and strength and grace and delicacy.  The quality of sound will depend greatly on the knowledge and intelligence a player brings to the music as well as a consistent philosophy of study.  For the instrument maker, it is important to have an attentiveness to both materials and tools as well as to the needs of the individual player.  A perfect collaboration between the the instrument maker and the performer occurs when both parties share the same dedication to the betterment of their craft: The courage to not rest on past accomplishments, to not be self satisfied and to want to grow and develop, especially as their reputation improves.  After seeing these people, I always leave with feelings of both inspiration to do better and disappointment for not having done enough.

Yoshihiko Miyamoto, head of the Miyamoto Unosuke

Ranjo has been making bamboo flutes (or shinobue) from dawn till dusk, every single day for almost forty years

After a few days in Tokyo, I took place in Tohoku Artist Caravan 2013, a project conceived, organized and held together by my good friend Daniel Rosen.  The caravan visited the small city of Kesennuma, a port town that was all but swept away by the tsunami of 3/11. The caravan consisted of basically two groups: painters who created vibrant murals on the grey walls of temporary shelters and musicians who performed in a newly constructed temple.  The cars were provided by Mini Cooper, the caffeine by Redbull, the taiko drums by Miyamoto and all twenty of us slept in an out-of-business Japanese inn overlooking cliffs floating above a peaceful sea.

The cars were provided by Mini Cooper, the caffeine by Redbull, the taiko drums by Miyamoto

The next morning after arrival, I woke around five and took a walk on a trail that took me around the edge of the peninsula.  I was deep in thought when at one point I felt a very nearby presence.   I looked up and saw two deer staring at me in perfect stillness. I had never seen deer like this before, with short straight antlers and a thick coat of fur.  We stared at each other for long time and they let me take a few pictures with my iPhone, but when I felt I had disturbed them enough and took a step along the path, in an instant they bounded off through the thick foliage.

on a morning walk around the peninsula

two deer staring at me in perfect stillness

I found out later that on 3/11 the ocean had come up through the narrow v-shape opening along the cliff wall in front of the inn with such force that a steel handrail about 30 feet up from the water was bent over completely.  Apparently, the force of the tsunami coming in from the ocean is much less than that of the force of it being sucked back out, evidence being the torii (red wooden gates found at Shinto shrines) that were found fallen towards the ocean and not away.

fallen handrail by the cliff

The temple, Jifukuji, was surrounded by land with a few brand new houses, still under construction, and foundations of buildings that were swept away.  It seems that everywhere we turned there was a reminder of the tsunami: a marker 15 feet up on the wall indicating how high the tsunami came, the piano we used in the concert that was a replacement for another piano that had been damaged beyond repair by the seawater and perhaps most hauntingly, the rooms in the temple that were crammed with individual shrines for each of the deceased victims of the tsunami.  In front of each sacred ornament and solemn photograph people would leave a can of beer or bag of sweets for the comfort of their departed loved ones.

Jifukuji

a shrine for the animals that were victims of the tsunami

A list of the names of those who died in the tsunami

The concert was a homemade affair.  A few of us carried out the multiple wooden platforms that would become the small stage, we set up chairs for the audience and afterwards we vacuumed the floors after putting everything away.  There were three ensembles and one soloist.  The musicians I performed with were all at some point or another lead players in the taiko ensemble Kodo who have since left the group and moved on to have individual solo careers.  Even though we hadn't played together as a group in many years, we were able to immediately fall back into our old rhythm.  We laughed at ourselves for not having maintained the hyper intense physical regiment that we all used to keep while touring with Kodo and found that playing some of our old repertoire was surprisingly strenuous.  However, in the end, we were all very relaxed and had a lot of fun, thanks especially to the enthusiastic response from the local audience.  Two current members of Kodo who were traveling to study a dance in Tohoku came and watched the entire 4 hour show.  At the end, true to their Kodo nature, they immediately began helping pack and move drums, equipment and cleaning the temple.

The concert was a homemade affair. 

a huge ship sitting in the middle of a lot on dry land

The following morning, we all loaded back up into our Minis and drove the ten hours back to Tokyo.  I took turns driving with my old friend Ryutaro Kaneko and we spoke of all sorts of things.  A wrong turn heading into the Tokyo area prolonged our trip by an extra hour but we still managed to arrive in Shibuya ahead of the rest of the caravan.  The following day, I was taking an afternoon flight out of Narita heading back to JFK.

Now I'm back in NYC, in preparation mode for a few large undertakings, including performances in the coming months at Shapeshifter lab, the Blue Note (Motions), Highline Ballroom (Alicia Hall Moran), The River to River Festival (with So Percussion) and Lincoln Center Out Doors Festival.  More info to come.

-Kaoru

GO: Organic Orchestra Residency Continues Tonight!

Hi everyone, Adam Rudolph's GO: Organic Orchestra Spring Residency at ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, NY continues tonight, Monday March 25, 2013.

COMPOSED AND IMPROVISATIONALLY CONDUCTED BY ADAM RUDOLPH Adam Rudolph leads GO: Organic Orchestra, composed of 42 musicians including Kaoru on noh kan, fue, and c flute. The 6-show residency at ShapeShifter Lab started on Monday March 11.  Make sure to catch the rest of their residency shows on April 8, April 22, May 6, and May 20.

8:00 open rehearsal / concert (public welcome) 9:00 concert

$15 at the door for both sets

ShapeShifter Lab is at 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn, NY 11215, off the R Train to Union St.

http://www.metarecords.com/go.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Go-Organic-Orchestra

http://www.metarecords.com/adam.html

KWTC Taiko Workshop April 14, 1-5:30pm & Sukeroku Workshop (with Taiko Aiko Kai) March 25

RSVP for KWTC Taiko Workshop on SUNDAY April 14th, from1-5:30pm! We still have a limited number of spots available for this day, but are confirming that we've booked a studio at Complete Music Studios on Vanderbilt Ave (Prospect Heights) - http://www.completemusic.com/ RSVP at info@taikonyc.com.

*We will send out more detailed information about the time breakdown/fee, etc., but basically, we will be holding a beginner session and then a regular session. All members will be able to apply unused classes (more info to come on this too).

A workshop announcement from Taiko Aiko Kai: Sukeroku Workshop Monday March 25th 7:15 - 9:15 at Teachers College of Columbia University.

Imaizumi-sensei of Sukeroku Taiko who visited us last May is returning to New York and will conduct a workshop for us on Monday, March 25th. The workshop will be held in the music room in the Horace Mann Hall from 7:15PM - 9:15PM. The fee for the workshop is $25. Don't forget to bring a photo ID to enter the building. The entrance is on the north side of West 120th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway.  The closest subway is 116th Street and Broadway on #1 train.

RSVP for KWTC Taiko Workshop!

TAIKO WORKSHOP (*Please RSVP ASAP*) Sunday, April 14th, 2013 For those of you with an itch to play taiko- we are planning to hold a workshop from around 1 pm at Complete Music Studios on Vanderbilt in Prospect Heights. We will run beginner and regular sessions, working on basics, improvisation, pieces- same as we usually do in class. If we can get a handful of people we will book the space so please RSVP as soon as you can at info@taikonyc.com.

Here are some of Kaoru's upcoming performances:

Monday, March 25, 9pm GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA @ ShapeShifter Lab (NYC) Composed and improvisationally conducted by Adam Rudolph

8:00 PM open rehearsal/concert (public welcome)

9:00 PM concert

$15 for both sets Live Stream here: http://live.shapeshifterlab.com/

18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn, NY 11215. R train to Union

Sunday, March 31, 6:30pm Bella Gaia: Origin Stories of Japan @ NYU Skirball (NYC) Award-winning composer and director Kenji Williams brings a special and exotic version of BELLA GAIA (Beautiful Earth) to New York! Inspired by stories of astronauts who returned to Earth transformed after the view from space, and working with J-Collabo, "BELLA GAIA: Origin Stories of Japan" explores the relationship between humans and nature through ancient Japanese arts fused with modern expression and technology. The 70-minute immersive performance produced and performed by Williams, features Japanese traditional artists performing Live Noh (dance), Gagaku (ceremonial orchestra), and Shomyo (chanting), and more. Tickets: $15, $20, $30, $40, $75 (Orchestra Seats with VIP reception pass from 5pm) 566 Laguardia Place, New York, NY 10012. A, B, C, D, E, F, M  trains to West 4th St. More info here: http://j-collabo.org/news/bella-gaia-origin-stories-of-japan/

Monday, April 1, 10:30pm Imani Uzuri @ Blue Note (NYC) Recently praised in the New York Times for her "gorgeously chesty ruminations" by music critic Steve Smith, "stunning" (New York Magazine) vocalist and innovative composer Imani Uzuri returns to the Blue Note on April 1 to perform songs from her new acclaimed album, The Gypsy Diaries, which draws on her rural Southern roots as well as influences ranging from Sufi devotionals to Romany laments. Uzuri will be joined by a stellar group of musicians who are all featured on the album, including Marika Hughes (cello), Kaoru Watanabe (Japanese shinobue flute, western flute), Todd Isler (world percussion), album co-producer Christian Ver Halen (acoustic guitar), and Neel Murgai (sitar, daf).

Friday, April 5, 9pm Skye Steele's Railroad Rodia @ Zirzamin (NYC) Skye Steele, violin Kyle Sanna, guitar Kaoru Watanabe, flutes John Hadfield, drums Chris Tordini, bass and surprise guests TBA.... 90 W Houston Street, New York, NY 10012. B,D,F,M trains to Broadway Lafayette.

Mondays, April 8 and 22, 9pm GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA @ ShapeShifter Lab (NYC) Composed and improvisationally conducted by Adam Rudolph

8:00 PM open rehearsal/concert (public welcome)

9:00 PM concert

$15 for both sets Live Stream here: http://live.shapeshifterlab.com/

18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn, NY 11215. R train to Union

Saturday, April 13, 7pm Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts  with Kyodaiko@Settlement Music School, Mary Louise Curtis Branch, Presser Hall On March 11, 2011 the northern Tohoku region of Japan experienced a 9.0 earthquake that triggered a devastating tsunami and nuclear disaster. For over 25 years, Shofuso Japanese House and Garden has had a relationship of cultural exchange with the city of Sendai (in the Tohoku region). Over the years, various folk artists have brought the culture of Sendai to Philadelphia. The Japanese-American community at Shofuso developed deep friendships with the artists of Sendai. KyoDaiko Taiko Drummers of Philadelphia will perform Hiraki, an original composition by Kaoru Watanabe as a memorial to the victims and a celebration of the resilience of the survivors. Tickets: $20, $15 for seniors (65+) and students 416 Queen St, Philadelphia, PA 19147.

Thursday, April 18, 7pm Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts with Kyodaiko@Shofuso Japanese House & Garden Doors open at 5pm for guided tours of Shofuso until 6:45pm. This performance is outdoors and will happen weather permitting. Tickets: $20, $15 for seniors (65+) and students 100 Horticulture Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19122.

Saturday, April 20, 6:30pm-Midnight with Kyodaiko @ 105th Anniversary Gala dinner, Settlement Music School(Philadelphia, PA) Grand Ballroom, Hyatt at The Bellevue, 200 South Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102.

April 2013: Tohoku Artist Caravan (Sendai, Japan) Kaoru will be performing with fellow past members of KODO, traveling to Sendai, one of the areas of Japan hardest hit in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Kaoru and his colleagues are raising money for this project. Contribute to this project on their crowdfunding sites on Campfire (Japanese)or Indiegogo (English)! In the same vein as Kickstarter, they must raise at least 2 million yen or else the project will not be funded at all! You can contribute on Campfire now or stay tuned for the Indigogo site in English soon. Find Artist Caravan on social media: Facebook and Twitter (search for #ArtistCaravan)

Thank you and hope to see you all soon.

Kaoru

Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe's sold out show at the Baruch Performing Arts Center (Music From Japan Festival 2013) in February! Photo by Ken Howard 

March 2013

Tuesday, March 5th at 7:30pmwith Kenny Endo & Sumie Kaneko at ShapeShifter Lab $12 cover Presented by Music from Japan

Saturday, March 9th from 10:00am-6:00pm (full schedule here) Panelist: Summit on “The Future of Japanese Music and Strategies for the 21st Century” Presented by the Institute for Medieval Japanese Studies Partially sponsored by the Japan Foundation Scandinavia House, Victor Borge Hall (58 Park Avenue, between 37th & 38th St.) Free and open to the public.

For inquiries please contact the Institute for Medieval Japanese Studies at 212-854-7403 ormedielvajapan@columbia.edu.

  Monday, March 11 at ShapeShifter Lab GO:  ORGANIC ORCHESTRA Composed and improvisationally conducted by Adam Rudolph 8:00 PM open rehearsal/concert (public welcome), 9:00 PM concert $15 for both sets

“What a mind blowing experience to see and hear Adam Rudolph´s Go Organic Orchestra deliver its musical message as the last act of Tampere Jazz Happening 2012. The band showed the ecstatic audience what organic really means! One of the best bands of the festival this year, no doubt” -Seppo Pietikäinen Tampere festival MC

Saturday, March 16 at Asia Society of Houston at 7:30pm Flutes of Hope Concert ft. Kaoru Watanabe, fue and taiko; Akihito Obama and Ralph Samuelson, shakuhachi; and Sumie Kaneko, koto and shamisen.

Two years after the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the people of Japan continue to grieve the loss of loved ones, grapple with the enormity of rebuilding, and find comfort in the ties that bind community. Together with the Consulate General of Japan—Houston, Asia Society Texas Center proudly presents Flutes of Hope, a project created by four renowned masters of traditional Japanese flutes and stringed instruments. Fresh from a stop at Carnegie Hall, the quartet brings a timeless message of hope and healing that speaks to the best of the human spirit.

Presented in commemoration of the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and in partnership with the Consulate General of Japan-Houston.

1370 Southmore Blvd. Houston, TX 77004. 713.496.9901

Monday, March 25 at ShapeShifter Lab GO:  ORGANIC ORCHESTRA Composed and improvisationally conducted by Adam Rudolph 8:00 PM open rehearsal/concert (public welcome), 9:00 PM concert $15 for both sets

Sunday, March 31 at NYU Skirball Center Bella Gaia: Origin Stories of Japan at 6:30pm Presented by J-Collabo Buy tickets ($15-$75) here: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/921353

Discover a new collaborative project by J-COLLABO which seeks to unite important Japanese historical monuments with prominent locations in the U.S. under the theme of Japanese culture and art. The final product will be a fantastic multimedia live performance made visible to the world online.

A spectacular music and visual art performance connecting Japan! We are developing this original art and music performance with the brilliant composer violinist Kenji Williams.  Our goal is to present a new vision of Japan through a collaboration between Bella Gaia, a visual art performance originating from NY that uses NASA images, and various artists who carry on Japanese traditional arts (Noh, Gagaku, Shomyo). The resulting show will be a valuable experience.

 

WYNC Gig Alert!

An especially exciting announcement: Kenny Endo and Kaoru's show on March 5th with guest Sumie Kaneko was posted on WYNC Public Radio's Music Hub Gig Alert!

http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/articles/music-hub/2013/mar/05/gig-alert-kenny-endo-kaoru-watanabe/

Check out the link above, where you can download a FREE track of 'Together Alone' from Kenny and Kaoru's brand new album, Convergence.

SHOW DETAILS:

Tuesday, March 5 7:30pm, $12 at door

At ShapeShifter Lab 18 Whitwell Place (between Carroll and 1st St) Brooklyn, NY 11215 A 3 minute walk away from the R train to Union St. and 4th ave

Kenny Endo and Kaoru's performance is presented by Music from Japan.

KW Taiko Center: 'Spring Break!'

ANNOUNCEMENT: Effective March 1st, 2013: The Kaoru Watanabe Taiko Center is taking a 'spring break,' and postponing all taiko classes as it transitions to a new Brooklyn home!

For those of you who have an insatiable desire to play, please contact Kaoru at kaoru@watanabekaoru.com to arrange for private sessions. For those of you who feel this break will affect your ability to continue and would like a refund for the remainder of your classes you have purchased, please email Evan at evan@taikonyc.com.

Please catch the latest progress updates and announcements at the taiko center's website and send any questions to info@taikonyc.com.

Thank you for your support and patience. We look forward to our re-opening and seeing you soon!

Peace,

Patty

Kaoru and Kenny Endo highlighted in Japan Daily Press and The Mainichi

Hi everyone, Kaoru and Kenny are the subjects of two articles recapping their sold-out performance at the 38th Annual Music from Japan Festival in New York City this weekend! Read on!

Taiko concert pays tribute to disaster victims, wow U.S. audience February 25, 2013 by Jody Godoy, The Mainichi (via Kyodo News)

US audience in awe of Japanese traditional musician' tribute to 2011 disaster victims February 26, 2013 by Cherrie Lou Billones, Japan Daily Press

Music from Japan presents Kenny, Kaoru, & Sumie

Music from Japan presents:Kenny Endo, Kaoru Watanabe, and special guest Sumie Kaneko!

March 5, 2013 at 7:30pm ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, NY (map) Tickets $12 at the door.

Kenny Endo: http://www.kennyendo.com/

Sumie Kaneko: http://sumiekanekomusic.com/

Music from Japan 2013

Hi everyone, The 38th Season of the great Music from Japan Festival opens in New York tonight. Kenny Endo and Kaoru are performing at the Baruch Performing Arts Center at 8:00pm. They are giving a pre-show lecture and demonstration at 7:15. Ticket information below.

Sat, Feb 23, 2013 at 8pm Baruch Performing Arts Center (Engelman Recital Hall), New York City

Rhythms of Japanese Drums and Flutes — Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe: Taiko and Fue

Artists: Kenny Endo, taiko (drums) Kaoru Watanabe, taiko (drums) and fue (bamboo flutes)

Program: Kenny Endo: Jugoya

Kaoru Watanabe: Together Alone

traditional: Chakuto Kenny Endo: Symmetrical Soundscapes ; Sand

Kaoru Watanabe: Hiraki

Endo and Watanabe: Chigen

Kenny Endo: Spirit Sounds

Kenny Endo: Swing, Soul and Sincerity arrangements of traditional pieces and new compositions/improvisations by Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe. Full program details to follow.

TICKETS: $20 individual concert tickets $35 festival weekend pass $12 student/senior rush (Sunday only) PLEASE NOTE: All phone and online orders incur $2 handling fees IN PERSON: Baruch Box Office PHONE: 646-312-5073 ONLINE:www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac

Baruch Performing Arts Center Engelman Recital Hall Baruch College: East 25th Street between Lexington Avenue and 3rd Avenue

A note from Team TokyoDex

Kaoru will be performing with fellow past members of KODO in a project called Artist Caravan, which will travel to Sendai, one of the areas of Japan hardest hit in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Here is a video about the project: http://youtu.be/8AH01PLkoA4

Campfire crowdfunding site (Japanese): http://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/564. Indiegogo (English):http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/327878

In the same vein as Kickstarter, they must raise at least 2 million yen or else the project will not be funded at all!Read more on our website:http://www.taikonyc.com/2013/02/19/support-artist-caravan/

See their note below!

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皆様、

２０１３年も、もう２月 。まだまだ寒さが厳しいですが、雲ひとつない真っ青な空を見上げていると、春が来るのも近いのでは？なんて思ったりしているTokyoDexチームです。

さて、今月皆様にお知らせしたいトップニュースは４月に行われるアートプロジェクト『東北アーティスト・キャラバン』!!! 東北アーティスト・キャラバンは、日本各地のアーティストやミュージシャンが連れだって気仙沼市唐桑町に集まり、人々が待ちのぞんでいた文化注入をこの地域で行おうというプロジェクトです。地域を再生し、日本国内／世界中から観光客を呼び寄せ、人々の関心を高め、地元経済を立て直すお手伝いをする長期のアートプロジェクトです。またクライマックスには、著名な太鼓芸能集団「鼓童」OBの共演を目玉とするオープニング・パーティーをとり行います。

CAMPFIREを通して、東北アーティストキャラバンのファンドサイトも起動開始！500円からの支援が可能で、金額に応じてアーティストオリジナルグッズなどといった、様々なリータンも提供。このプロジェクトを実現できるように１円でも多くのサポートが必要です！みんな一緒に唐桑町へ色を届けませんか？ご支援のほど宜しくお願い致します！

今回の「あれやこれやカフェ」Vol.14はアーティストキャラバンのキックオフ・パーティーとして３／８（金曜日）に参加アーティスト達もでる。東京からもこのプロジェクトを盛り上げちゃいます！もちろんいつもと変わらず入場無料！

アーティストキャラバンのアップデートはfacebook pageはこちらから。ぜひ“いいね！”をお願いします！

TokyoDexのニュースはFacebookとTwitterで随時更新していますので要チェックですよ！

下記の「Other News」も是非ご覧下さい。

それでは今回はこの辺で。皆様のサポートお願い致します！

TokyoDex一同

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Hi folks,

Even as the cold weather continues, Team TokyoDex already has eyes on the Spring when and our April 2013 Tohoku Artist Caravan project. The Artist Caravan is an art project designed to bring a much-needed cultural infusion to a community in Northeastern Japan hit hard by the 2011 disaster. Artists and musicians from all over Japan will gather in the town of Karakuwa, Kesennuma to engage in art installations and live performances culminating in an opening party that features a reunion of former members of the famed taiko ensemble Kodo.

Please check out project details on our Campfire or Indiegogo fundraising sites. If you can read Japanese, please use the Campfire site because we really need help in reaching that goal. English speakers can use the Indiegogosite. We need your support to make this project a reality!

On March 8, we will officially launch the Artist Caravan at This&That Cafe Vol. 14. Many of the Artist Caravan participating artists will be there, and it promises to be yet another night of great art and music. Entrance is free as always, so please come by!

Please don't forget to “Like” our Artist Caravan page on facebook as well, and be sure to check out the "Other News" section below.

Thanks everyone, and hope to see you all soon.

The TokyoDex Team

Shakuhachi Marathon, March 2

Shakuhachi Marathon with Akihito Obama, presented by the Japan Society

 **Kaoru will be a special guest instructor during the min-yo and contemporary music session from 3-5pm**

Rising young shakuhachi star Akihito Obama, who has studied various styles of shakuhachi from the most traditional techniques to min-yo, or folk, and contemporary shakuhachi, offers a full day of workshops plus demonstrations for players of all levels.

Beginner Session: 10 pm–12 pm Learn the basic techniques of sound production and fingering

Advanced Session (traditional): 12:30 pm–2:30 pm Practice complex techniques through musical selections from the classic honkyoku repertoire

Advanced Session (min-yo, folk music/contemporary): 3pm–5 pm Learn new techniques for min-yo and contemporary music. Special guest teacher Kaoru Watanabe.

Beginner session is open to anyone; advanced sessions are open to anyone with more than two years of experience. Participants in any of the three sessions may observe the other session at no additional cost. A limited number of instruments are available for rental, please call  (212) 715-1220  to reserve an instrument.  Max 15 participants per session.

TICKETS $35/$30 Japan Society members ADVANCED SESSION PASS: $10 OFF your purchase of tickets to both advanced sessions

Buy tickets below or call the Japan Society Box Office at   (212) 715-1258      , Mon. - Fri. 11 am - 6 pm, Weekends 11 am - 5 pm. (Note: ADVANCED SESSION PASS only available by calling or visiting the Box Office.)

http://www.japansociety.org/event/shakuhachi-marathon-with-akihito-obama

NEW ALBUM

ANNOUNCING...

CONVERGENCE celebrates the confluence of the musical journeys between Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe. These two first met when Kenny, a celebrated taiko maestro, invited a fledgling, teenaged Kaoru to perform with him in St. Louis, MO in the early 90’s. In the decades since, they have come to share a similar life/artistic path defined by intensive study and performance with some of the most acclaimed musicians in traditional and contemporary Japanese music and a devotion to cross cultural and multi-disciplinary collaboration. As evident in this album, their music draws from Japanese festival and Kabuki theater musics to American jazz, free improvisation and other musics from across the globe.

On pre-release sale now! Make your purchase by Feb 23 for an autographed copy with free shipping/handling. HERE

The release date coincides with Kenny and Kaoru's performance at the Music From Japan Festival. The festival runs from Feb 23-24th in NYC at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. Read the press release here and buy your tickets here.

Album cover designed by Mari Nakano

Australia (Jan 18-29)

Hi everyone, Please enjoy Kaoru's latest travel report from his time in Australia and New Zealand! Leave a comment too!

-Patty

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I left for Australia the day after I returned home from Barbados and arrived in Sydney to find Ian Cleworth and Riley Lee from TaikOz waiting at the airport.  A few hours after landing, we went to the St. Luke's church where the Kinetic Jazz Festival takes place for a rehearsal with Kim Sanders.  Kim and I exchanged pieces, me showing him some Japanese folk music and original music and him showing me a Romanian folk song.  Riley, Kim and I did some trio improvisation and we called it a day.  I took a walk in Newtown, a very hip neighborhood with plenty of coffee shops, bookstores, art galleries and clothing shops.  The following day I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art by the Sydney Opera House and saw some some fantastic exhibitions of the works of Anish Kapoor, other international and local Australian artists and was pleasantly surprised to see Greg Ligon's video work with music by my friend Jason Moran.  In the evening, I performed with the Tim Clarkson septet playing flute on one tune and fue on another.  One of the greatest cultural treasures that the US has given the world is jazz and it was inspiring to see musicians of such high caliber playing in Sydney.  The music was challenging rhythmically and harmonically but the musicians breezed right through it.

I traveled to New Zealand to see my friend Melanie Taylor who had just returned home after many years living in Sado working for Kodo.  She will continue working for Kodo from abroad while going to graduate school in Melbourne (pronounced malbin as I was sternly corrected by Ozzie friends).  Over the course of three days, we had lamb bar-b-que with her family, visited the Aukland zoo, One Tree Hill, the beach, and drove a couple hours to Waitomo to visit the glowworm caves - where I played the fue in the dark, the cavernous ceilings dotted with countless glowing specks.  I was back in Australia Friday night in time for the Saturday morning TaikOz Intensive.  About forty or so participants from all over Australia and Tazmania were present, taiko enthusiasts who traveled some great distances to share and learn as much as they could.  For the next three days, there were workshops in all styles of taiko, fue and onikenbai given by myself and members of TaikOz.  Since Ian and Riley started TaikOz in the 90's, the group has grown to a high caliber professional ensemble, with deep connections to many instructors and performers in Japan including Iwasaki Onikenbai, Hachijo, Miyake, Hayashi Eitetsu and Kodo.  All the members are devoted students, all have extensive training in western percussion and drum set.  Everybody in the group has diverse and interesting resumes: Ian was in the Sydney Symphony for over a decade, Anton is a dancer, martial arts expert and model, Riley is a highly acclaimed shakuhachi master, etc etc!  Riley was also one of the earliest members of Ondekoza- Kodo's predecessors on Sado Island.  When I lived in the Mano school house while a probationary member of Kodo, I saw a drawing of Riley on an old Ondekoza poster every time I went to my room at night.  Riley is my sempai also in that he taught a semester at Princeton just before I did.  Despite all these connections, we hadn't me until about a year ago, in Brooklyn, where he taught a VERY intense breathing workshop at KWTC.

As for the intensive, I was amazed to learn how much taiko was being played in what seemed to me a very remote part of the world.  Living in NY even, it sometimes feels difficult enough getting information from Japan, but there are many dedicated taiko players in relatively large groups all over Australia, New Zealand, and the many islands in the area.  I even heard there were multiple groups in Tasmania some with forty members.

I left the second night of the intensive early to perform at the Kinetic Jazz Festival with Kim, Riley and last minute addition of Timothy Constable, from Synergy Percussion.  We performed folk, original and improvised music as solos, trios and a quartet. I felt the four of us really blended and connected in beautiful ways and the audience seemed to be with us along the journey.  The sound was all acoustic and the church seemed a perfect setting for the music we created.  Two sets later, I sat in with the Kinetic Jazz Festival Orchestra on a couple tunes, including one that was written for me by Ms. Gai Bryant.  It was such an honor to perform a big band chart written for me- the first time that's ever happened!

The final evening of the intensive, I cut short my last workshop and ended it with a short, somewhat impromptu concert.  First I had all the participants perform Ichirei, a piece I had been teaching over the course of a few days- I don't think I've ever had 30 some people playing that piece at one time and have definitely never had ten or so fue players playing it en masse.  Following that, I performed with TaikOz- first an improvised Odaiko/noh kan duet, than a Steven Reich type mallet piece that Riley and I improvised over and finally my piece Together Alone which had members of TaikOz playing taiko with their hands.  It was very free and conversational yet very tight and accurate in all the right ways.

My final day in Australia, I had lunch with all the members of TaikOz, then visited their studio in the evening and saw their amazing array of miyadaiko, shime, okedo, o-daiko, hirado, narimono and costumes- mostly all from Japan.  Very impressive.  I left the following morning.  It was a great honor and a whole lot of fun hanging out with the members of TaikOz and all the intensive participants.

The day after I returned home, Mari and I set out for Antigua, this time for the wedding of our friends.  In the end, I flew sixty hours over the course of three weeks.  I return home with a surplus of e-mails to respond to, a few concerts coming up and a new semester at Wesleyan University.  Oh and bags of dirty laundry to wash.

-Kaoru

February 2013: Next stop, Japan

Hi everyone! Kaoru is currently in Antigua. So far this year he's jetted to Barbados, Trinidad, Australia, and New Zealand. His next stop? Japan! Kaoru will be performing with fellow past members of KODO in a project called Artist Caravan, then will move to a project with Kenny Endo with concerts in both Japan and the US.

ARTIST CARAVAN: Artist Caravan will take a few former KODO members to Sendai, one of the areas of Japan hardest hit in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Kaoru and his colleagues are raising money for this project. The Campfire crowdfunding site is here: http://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/564. In the same vein as Kickstarter, they must raise at least 2 million yen or else the project will not be funded at all! You can contribute on Campfire now or stay tuned for the Indigogo site in English soon.

Here is the video about the project:

http://youtu.be/8AH01PLkoA4

Find Artist Caravan on social media: Facebook and Twitter (search for #ArtistCaravan)

Barbados & Trinidad (Jan 13-18)

Hi everyone, I'm here to share Kaoru's tour report from his Japanese Arts in Latin America (JAILA) tour where he played with Isaku Kageyama, Brian Kushmaul, Sheena Richardson, Keisha Coddington and other great artists. I've embedded pictures from his Instagram account. Enjoy!

-Patty

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Trinidad and Barbados JAILA Tour (January 13-18)

This was my second time visiting Trinidad under the auspices of Japan Foundation's JAILA program.  We were greeted at the airport by representatives from the Japanese Embassy, including Mr. Yoshimura who was one of the coordinators on my previous trip to Trinidad.  

The first morning there, we met with two of three musical collaborators for the concert that was to take place the following evening: Brian Kushmaul, an American percussion professor at University of Trinidad and Tobago and one of his students, Sheena Richardson- who commutes from her home every day two hours each way in order to study at the university.  They were very quick to learn a somewhat complicated composition of mine and we had a great time making music together and talking about the local music scene.  At the workshop, Isaku and I performed or spoke of Japanese festival, folk, theater and contemporary music and about the instruments themselves.  Afterwards, we talked for over an hour with very enthusiastic members of the audience, many being musicians and university students who study either music or Japanese language.  Many came up and said they had seen me in 2010.

That evening, after dinner at Ambassador Tekuza's's residency, Brian took all of us, including the ambassador and his wife, to visit a few steel pan orchestra rehearsals.  Although I have performed with steel pan players in the past and have heard recordings of steel pan, it was my first time seeing large steel pan orchestras live.  Some have over a hundred people playing and to hear the sheer volume of so many musicians performing with perfect synchronicity was overwhelming.  

The first group we visited was the award winning Invaders.  During the twenty some minutes we observed, they only played the same few phrases over and over and over again, with the arranger coming around to fix parts here and there and occasionally having the musicians play considerably slower to clarify the rhythms and melodies.  Another band, the Silver Stars similarly spent time focussing on a few phrases but would also run entire pieces, perhaps for the entertainment of the handful of tourists and other onlookers.  Perhaps the most extraordinary session we witnessed was Boogsie Sharpe rehearsing his band Phase Two.  In order to teach his band one short phrase, Boogsie took about twenty minutes dictating the phrase one note at a time.  I was amazed at this laborious yet thorough process which allows large groups of musicians with no formal musical training to play complex and virtuosic music with astonishing accuracy.  

The next day, we had our first rehearsal with eighteen year old pan player Keisha Coddington.  Inspired by what I had seen the previous night, I taught her a fairly tricky phrase by singing it and playing it on the shinobue.  WIthin moments, she caught the phrase by ear and was able to play it back with unwavering confidence.  I had taught this phrase to many accomplished musicians in the past but this eighteen year old was perhaps the quickest in getting it so completely.  

That evening, Isaku and I performed at Queens Hall, a concert hall built in the 50's that has recently been outfitted with modern lighting and sound systems and new stage.  The majority of the concert comprised of Isaku and I performing duo, with our collaborators Brian, Sheena and Keisha in on a few pieces.   Our closing number, a rendition of the popular Calypso Tey Ley Ley elicited a standing ovation from the sold out audience.  Isaku and I stayed in the lobby for almost an hour after the concert, signing autographs and taking pictures with enthusiastic attendees.

The following day, we traveled to Barbados, just a fifty minute long flight.  We checked into our hotel, located just across the street from a pristine beach.  After a "dolphin lunch" (actually mahi mahi) and mauby (a simultaneously sweet and bitter drink that is made from boiled tree bark, spices and sugar) we rehearsed with the Haynesville Youth Group, a troupe of children and young adults who perform African, Tuk Band and Calypso music and dance.  The performers, some as young as nine, did not make a sound as they set up their myriad of drums, bells and shakers, showing their disciplined and respectful nature.  

After the rehearsal, I had a long talk with a young man named Jahdial who was eager to share information about tuk band music and how it accompanies the exploits of the many colorful characters found in Barbadian folk lore.  That evening, we were invited to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kirton for some delicious Barbadian home cooking and sampling of fine local rums.

We spent the following morning sightseeing with the ambassador- visiting a fish market, an instrument shop and other sights.  In the afternoon, we rehearsed for the evening concert.  For dinner, we bought fried fish, cou cou and mac pie from the back of a food truck.  The concert went well, with very warm response from the audience.  In the collaboration with the youth group we blended a Japanese Kiyari uta with a folk melody from Barbados called Bridgetown.  After the performance, there was a VIP reception hosted by the Governor General of Barbados, where I had a delightful time chatting with diplomats from the UK, Venezuela, Brazil, the US and elsewhere.  The reception was like the rest of the trip- a whirlwind of sharing stories of travel, culture, music and family with new friends.  The final morning we had a leisurely poolside breakfast before heading to the airport.  By evening, we returned to New York's 30 degree winds and two airport personnel having a senseless shouting match in front of us, reminding us we had indeed arrived home.  

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Japan Foundation for having me on this trip.  Thank you to everyone I met during the trip, especially those who have reached out online on Facebook or on my website! Keep in touch and maybe we will meet again!

-Kaoru