Tsukasa Taiko at JASC:
The 8th Annual Chicago Taiko Legacy 8, Dec 17-18, 2011
Asian Improv aRts Midwest, the region’s leading Asian American cultural arts organization, is pleased to present the Eighth Annual Chicago Taiko Legacy!
Returning to the Museum of Contemporary Art with presentations on December 17 and 18, the Chicago Taiko Legacy is the showcase performance event for Tsukasa Taiko, one of the Midwest’s leading Japanese drumming and traditional Japanese music groups. Combining thunderous drumming, precision choreography and stunning costumes, the Taiko Legacy is concert not to be missed.
Taiko drumming is an over 2000-year-old ancient Japanese ceremonial art. "Tsukasa Taiko" is a performance company in Chicago that has taken it to new heights. By adding Asian Jazz artists -- they've blended the traditional with new improvisational jazz forms -- to create a contemporary stylized musical art form. The Museum of Contemporary Art has been home to their performances since 1997 and it has become a December tradition. The show is called "Taiko Legacy 8" and it's a family friendly weekend of performances Dec. 17th & 18th.
thunderous…thriving…an adrenaline-charged departure from the customary sugar-laced holiday fare.
- New City Stage
An aural landmark:
This year’s Taiko Legacy will feature Tsukasa Taiko under the leadership of Amy Homma, valued collaborator and master taiko artist Melody Takata of San Francisco and Gen Ryu Arts. International guests will include shamisen and koto artist Yoko Reikano Kimura and chindoya (Japanese street music) performer Yasushi Shimazaki, who will perform new collaborative works with dynamic Chicago tenor saxophonist Edward Wilkerson Jr. and percussionist Coco Elysses.
Thunderous taiko drumming, stylized kimono dance, improvisations bridging jazz and Japanese court music - all of these combine when Tsukasa Taiko; Edward Wilkerson and Coco Elysses-Hevia of the legendary Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians; and three generations of artists from Tokyo, San Francisco, and Chicago perform in this joyous concert.
Perfect for families, the performance unites ancient and contemporary music forms, and wraps the lively sounds in stunningly beautiful costumes and lighting for an unforgettable celebration of both custom and invention.
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Sat, Dec 17, 7:30 pm
Sun, Dec 18, 3:00 pm
MCA members $12
Nonmembers $15
Children 12 yrs and under: free
Buy Tickets Online or call the MCA Box Office, 312.397.4010
What is taiko?
Literally meaning "drum," the taiko is known for its thunderous sound and stunning, stylized choreography. With a 2,000 year-old history, taiko has its roots in Japanese court, theater, religious/ceremonial and festival music, where the taiko was just one instrument of many that comprised the ensembles that performed this music. In the mid-20th century, the kumi-daiko style evolved, which featured ensembles made up solely of drums. Since then, kumi-daiko has enjoyed tremendous popularity and in the US it has become a celebrated symbol of heritage and culture for the Japanese American community.
Tsukasa Taiko at JASC is unique in that it performs not only kumi-daiko, but other forms of music employing additional instruments with a shared tradition in Japanese folk and classical music, such as the three-stringed instrument shamisen. The sound of the shamisen is similar in some respects to that of the American banjo in that the drum-like skin-covered body amplifies the sound of the strings, and at its lower register reminiscent of the buzzing of the Indian sitar.
Another instrument Tsukasa Taiko at JASC employs is the transverse bamboo flute shinobue. Known for emitting a very high-pitched sound, the shinobue holds a prominent role in noh and kabuki theater music as well as matsuri festival music.
With these instruments, Tsukasa Taiko at JASC performs music that includes ozashiki (chamber music), minyo (folk music) and ohayashi (classical/folk/theater music) styles, representing many Japanese musical traditions that are now rarely heard. Tsukasa Taiko at JASC is proud to have a role in the preservation, development and presentation of these cultural art forms.
MCA
The MCA Stage presented the country's first Taiko Legacy with Tatsu Aoki in 1998, for his solo bass project Basser Live featuring visual artist Amy Lee Segami's slideshow of Suminagashi, John Sagami performing Taiko (Japanese drum) and Paul Kim performing Buk (Korean drum). Advancing Taiko Legacy's development was MCA Stage's 2001 presentation with the JASC of Tatsu Aoki's inaugural MIYUMI project Big Band: Origins of Now. MCA Stage's presentation in 2003 of US-JAPAN 150, which commemorated the centennial of US-Japanese relations, featured for the first time in the country master shinobue artists from Tokyo performing with Taiko masters from San Francisco and Chicago, and completed by leading jazz improvisers including Jonathan Chen, Mwata Bowden, and Tatsu Aoki
Aarchive
TaikoLegacy 7 Gallery
Photo courtesy of Ken Carl 773 294 6025 Ken Carl Photography, LLC.
www.kencarl.com
The Fifth Annual CHICAGO TAIKO LEGACY December 13-14, 2008
Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art
Photo by Lauren Deutsch