Welcome to Tsukasa Taiko
Tsukasa Taiko is a Leading Community of
Japanese Drumming and Performing Arts
Collaborators and Friends
Tsukasa Taiko is proud of our collaborative efforts with various aspects of the arts.
Mwata Bowden
Multi-Instrumentalist
Grand Master Fujima Shunojo
Grand Master Fujima Yoshinojo (Rika Lin)
Melody Takata
Founder and Director of GenRyu Arts
Michael Zerang
Chizuru Kineya
Hamid Drake
Dohee Lee
Fukuhara Hyakkyo (flute)
& Fukuhara Tsuruka (taiko)
Both artists are certified performers from the traditional Fukuhara clan performing actively in the Kabuki - Nagauta tradition as well as other collaborative works.
Kizan Kawamura
Born into a traditional Shakuhachi (bamboo flute) family, he started his formal practice in early age under acclaimed grand master Taizan Kawamura.
Eigen Aoki
Dee Alexander
Born on Chicago’s west side, Dee Alexander is one of Chicago’s most gifted and respected female vocalist/songwriters.
Edward Wilkerson Jr.
Edward Wilkerson Jr. is an internationally recognized jazz musician, composer, arranger, and educator based in Chicago.
Coco Elysses
She is a member of the Association of the Advancement of Creative Musicians and works in theater, for voice-overs and film, and is a screenwriter and poet.
Yoko Reikano Kimura
Yoko Reikano Kimura performs classical Japanese music in the Yamada School style as well as more contemporary music on the koto and shamisen.
Ayako Kato
Ayako Kato is a dancer and choreographer from Yokohama, Japan. She trained in classical ballet in Japan, butoh with master Kazuo Ohno, as well as tai chi, Noh theater dance, and modern dance upon moving to the US.
Douglas R. Ewart
Douglas R. Ewart (http://aacmchicago.org/douglas-ewart-0) is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, instrument builder and visual artist.
Nicole Mitchell
Nicole Mitchell is a flutist, bandleader, composer, and educator. Mitchell is the founder of the critically acclaimed Black Earth Ensemble and Black Earth Strings, and has been named Jazz Flutist of the Year (2010) by the Jazz Journalist Association, Top Flutist (2010) by Downbeat Magazine, and Chicagoan of the Year (2006) by the Chicago Tribune.
Collaborative Projects
Shubukai
Shubukai presents cultural arts and educational presentations throughout Chicago and the Midwest, and is committed to maintaining and sustaining the core aesthetics of Japanese classical dance in Chicago and the Asian American community. www.shubukai.org
National Gintenkai
Aoki formed the National Gintenkai Project, teaching advanced players from Gen Taiko the same Gintenkai pieces he teaches Tsukasa’s Gintenkai Unit. Throughout the year, members fly out to play in annual performances for each group. Gintenkai.org
Toyoaki Shamisen
Chicago’s renowned musician, Tatsu Aoki, presents his new work of a 300-year legacy of Japanese cultural arts. toyoakimoto.org
The Miyumi Project
Tatsu Aoki and his band, The Miyumi Project featuring Tsukasa Taiko celebrate the collaboration between African-American and Asian-American jazz artists with a multi-generational group fusing Avant Garde jazz with taiko drumming. www.miyumiproject.com
Sky Landing
In 2016, the MIYUMI Project & Tsukasa Taiko was chosen as the official musical presenters for Yoko Ono’s “SKYLANDING” Project here in Chicago and resulted in the Yoko Ono produced SKYLANDING album, an innovative, energetic musical experience. Each successive grouping of musicians over the past two decades have contributed to the unique blending of modern application with traditional sensibility. www.skylanding.com
Educational Program
