Hiroshima (band)

Last updated

Hiroshima
OriginLos Angeles, California
Genres Smooth jazz, R&B, pop, world music [1]
Years active1974–present
Labels Arista, Epic, Qwest, Heads Up
Members
  • Dan Kuramoto
  • June Kuramoto
  • Danny Yamamoto
  • Dean Cortez
  • Kimo Cornwell
Past members
  • Jess Acuna
  • Jeanette Clinger
  • Peter Hata
  • Dave Iwataki
  • Teri Koide
  • Shoj Kameda
  • Teri Kusumoto
  • Barbara Long
  • Richard Mathews
  • Dane Matsumura
  • Johnny Mori
  • Margaret "Machun" Sasaki-Taylor
  • John Shipley
  • Terry Steele
Website hiroshimamusic.com

Hiroshima is an American band formed in 1974 that incorporates Japanese instruments in its music. Hiroshima has sold over four million albums around the world.

Contents

Biography

Dan Kuramoto, Hiroshima's leader, is from East Los Angeles. He attended California State University, Long Beach, then led its Asian-American studies department. Through playing in a band on weekends he met June Kuramoto, a native of Japan who grew up in Los Angeles and played koto , a Japanese stringed instrument. Kuramoto admired Earth, Wind, and Fire for the way it combined jazz and R&B, and Santana for his identification with Latinos. He wanted to create a band that would represent Asian Americans. He named it after the Japanese city Hiroshima, which was mostly destroyed by an atomic weapon at the end of World War II. [2]

Hiroshima's debut album sold more than 100,000 copies in its first three months. The band's second album yielded the song "Winds of Change", which received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Instrumental. Hiroshima got its first gold album in 1985 with Another Place and the second with Go which followed it. The album Legacy was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2010. Hiroshima has sold more than four million albums worldwide. In 1990, the band was the opening act for Miles Davis, [2] and in 1988 they played with T-Square at the Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall.

Hiroshima consists of Dan Kuramoto (saxophone, flute, keyboards, shakuhachi ), June Kuramoto (koto), Kimo Cornwell (keyboards), Dean Cortez (bass guitar), and Danny Yamamoto (drums and taiko ). [2]

Awards and honors

Hiroshima was given the Visionary Award by East West Players, the oldest Asian Pacific American theatre company in the United States, [3] for the band's "Impact on the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through their artistic excellence and support of the Asian Pacific American performing arts." [4]

Members

Past

Discography

TitleYearLabel
Hiroshima1979 Arista
Odori1980Arista
Third Generation 1983 Epic
Another Place 1985Epic
Ongaku1986Arista
Go1987Epic
East1989Epic
Providence1992Epic
L.A.1994 Qwest
Best Of Hiroshima1994Epic
Urban World Music1996Qwest
Between Black and White1999 Windham Hill
The Bridge2003 Heads Up
Spirit of the Season2004Heads Up
Obon2005Heads Up
Little Tokyo2007Heads Up
Legacy2009Heads Up
Departure2011Hiroshima
J-Town Beat2013 CD Baby/Hiroshima
Songs With Words2015Hiroshima
20202021Hiroshima

References

  1. ↑ Yanow, Scott. "Hiroshima". AllMusic. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Chang, Heidi (September 16, 2016). "After 40 Years, Hiroshima's Music Still Resonates". NBC News. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Behind the Curtains: The Evolution and Impact of Asian Americans in Theatre | US-China Institute". china.usc.edu. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  4. ↑ BWW News Desk. "East West Player 46th Anniversary Visionary Awards to Honor Kimora Lee Simmons, Hiroshima and TAIKOPROJECT". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  5. ↑ Johnny Mori. Discover Nikkei, Japanese American National Museum. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
  6. ↑ About, Members biography. On Ensemble.
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