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Taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term taiko refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called wadaiko and to the form of ensemble taiko drumming more specifically called kumi-daiko. The process of constructing taiko varies between manufacturers, and the preparation of both the drum body and skin can take several years depending on the method.
Ernest James Watts is an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa's album The Grand Wazoo he played the "Mystery Horn", a straight-necked C melody saxophone. He played the notable saxophone riff on "The One You Love" by Glenn Frey.
Matthew Chamberlain is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter. He has played with various artists, including Pearl Jam, David Bowie, The Wallflowers, Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Garbage, and Macy Gray.
Little Tokyo, also known as Little Tokyo Historic District, is an ethnically Japanese American district in downtown Los Angeles and the heart of the largest Japanese-American population in North America. It is the largest and most populous of only three official Japantowns in the United States, all of which are in California. Founded around the beginning of the 20th century, the area, sometimes called Lil' Tokyo, J-Town, 小東京 (Shō-tōkyō), is the cultural center for Japanese Americans in Southern California. It was declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1995.
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.
Thomas "Bones" Malone is an American jazz musician, arranger, and producer. As his nickname implies, he specializes on the trombone but he also plays saxophone, trumpet, tuba, flute, and bass guitar. He has been a member of The Blues Brothers, Saturday Night Live Band, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and the CBS Orchestra, the house band for the Late Show with David Letterman.
Kodō (鼓童) is a professional taiko drumming troupe. Based on Sado Island, Japan, they have had a role in popularizing taiko drumming, both in Japan and abroad. They regularly tour Japan, Europe, and the United States. In Japanese the word "Kodō" conveys two meanings: "heartbeat" the primal source of all rhythm and, read in a different way, the word can mean "children of the drum".
Steve Jordan is an American musical director, producer, songwriter, and musician. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a member of the bands for the television shows Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman.
Shoji Kameda is a fourth-generation Japanese American musician and composer, and leading player of North American taiko. He is a founder and member of On Ensemble, a contemporary taiko quartet, and a former member of the jazz fusion group Hiroshima.
Kenny Endo is an American musician and taiko master. He is the leader of several taiko ensembles and regularly tours, performing traditional and contemporary taiko music. Endo is also the first non-Japanese national to receive a natori in the field of hogaku hayashi, Japanese classical drumming. Today Endo composes his own music and plays taiko professionally as a solo artist, with his ensembles, and in collaboration with other artists.
Roy Hirabayashi is a leader in North American Taiko. He is a composer, performer, teacher and activist. He is co-founder of one of the seminal taiko groups in North America, San Jose Taiko, the group's former Artistic and Executive Director, and active in developing San Jose's Japantown and arts community.
Kelvin Underwood is an American musician specializing in the drum set and taiko, the art of Japanese drumming. After joining the Japanese taiko ensemble Ondekoza at age 19, he returned to the United States four years later to pursue a career as a professional drummer. He is a member of the Los Angeles-based contemporary taiko quartet On Ensemble and collaborates with a variety of other artists and performers. Underwood resides in Ashland, Oregon with his two children.
Stanford Taiko is a collegiate taiko group based at Stanford University. One of the first collegiate taiko groups to form in North America, it was founded in the winter of 1992 by students Ann Ishimaru and Valerie Mih as a way to share taiko with the university community. As the founding organization of the Intercollegiate Taiko Invitational, Stanford Taiko has been instrumental in the development of collegiate taiko throughout the United States, as well as the larger North American taiko community through performing at the Taiko Jam of the North American Taiko Conference. Since 2000, the group has been active in the international scene through tours and exchange concerts in countries such as Japan, China, and Thailand.
The Midwest Buddhist Temple Taiko group is a self-taught taiko group based in Chicago, Illinois, at the Midwest Buddhist Temple. The group started in 1977 based upon Buddhistic principals after the model of Kinnara Taiko in Los Angeles. The Midwest Buddhist Temple Taiko group performs for the temple, the Buddhist community, the Japanese American community, other communities, commercial gigs, business conferences, and different ethnic fairs. They do not consider themselves to be primarily a performing group, and they do service projects with the temple such as performing at the Midwest Buddhist Temple Ginza Holiday Festival.
Denver Taiko is the fourth taiko group founded in North America and the first taiko ensemble outside of California, United States. The group has a close partnership with the Tri-State Denver Buddhist Temple and performs throughout Colorado and neighboring states. In 2001, Denver Taiko received the Excellence in the Arts Award from Denver Mayor Wellington Webb. Today, Denver Taiko is an ensemble of third, fourth, and fifth generation Japanese Americans with a shared interest in honoring their Japanese American cultural heritage.
Jodaiko is a performing group based in University of California, Irvine that is specialized in taiko. Originally named "Tomo No Taiko", Jodaiko's origins lie in UCI's Japanese-American student group, Tomo No Kai ; it is often referred to as Tomo No Kai's sister group. Tomo No Taiko was founded in 1992 by Peggy Kamon and David Shiwota, both integral members in the Tomo No Kai community, in preparation for 1993 ‘’’Cultural Night’’’. Their influence on the group is reflected through the group's core values of bringing enjoyment of taiko--to both drummers and the audience alike--and spreading Japanese culture. Kamon, in charge of teaching interested Tomo No Kai members how to play taiko, also integrated core Buddhist values into Tomo No Taiko’s practices, performances, and policies. These Buddhist influences are also a result of Jodaiko's connection with Reverend Mas Kodani of Gardena Buddhist Church and Reverend George Matsubayashi of Venice Buddhist Church. Both provided the group with drums or their first performances in 1992, and continue to support their growth as a collegiate taiko group.
UCLA Kyodo Taiko is a collegiate taiko group specializing in taiko drumming. Founded in 1990, Kyodo is the first collegiate taiko group in the country. Kyodo is a Japanese term that means both "family" and "loud children." Many of Kyodo’s members are not of Japanese descent.
Seattle Kokon Taiko is a North American taiko ensemble based in Seattle, Washington.
Kinnara Taiko is a Japanese American drumming ensemble based out of Senshin Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles, USA. They began playing taiko in 1969 when a few third-generation Japanese Americans gathered after an Obon festival and had an impromptu experimental session on an odaiko drum.
The Senshin Buddhist Temple is a Buddhist temple in Los Angeles, California. An affiliate of the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA), the temple was built in 1951. It is known for its maintenance of traditional practices and for cultivating one of the earliest taiko groups appearing in the United States under the leadership of Masao Kodani.
References
- ↑ "Johnny Mori Biography". 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ↑ "JACCC Staff". Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. 2010. Archived from the original on May 13, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ↑ "The Birth of Taiko". 2010. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ↑ "All in the Drum: Building Taiko in America". 2010. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ↑ "Big Drum Taiko in North America". 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ↑ "Hiroshima: About the Band". Hiroshima. 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
