Kenny Endo Taiko ENSEMBLE "EAST MEETS WEST" TOUR October 16, 2005

Celebrating 30 years of taiko (Japanese drum) drumming, consummate taiko artist Kenny Endo, one of the foremost names in taiko drumming today, combines members of his Tokyo, Honolulu, and continental USA ensembles for a special Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble "East Meets West" performance tour in Fall 2005. With tradition as his basis for innovation, Endo has paved new directions in the use of traditional taiko, bringing a refreshing and creative approach to music through his western, ethnic and traditional influences.

The "East Meets West" performance tour features both Japanese and Western instruments in an eclectic collaboration of traditional and world rhythms and modern compositions. Instrumentation includes the large taiko drums, tsuzumi (Japanese hour-glass hand drum), bamboo flutes, 17-string bass koto, vibraphones, congas, as well as Latin, Japanese, and world percussion.

A performer, composer, and leading spirit in contemporary taiko, Endo trained in western drums and percussion from an early age before embarking on a journey of taiko training and performing that has taken him around the world. Endo holds the distinction of being the first non-Japanese national to be designated with a natori (stage name) in classical Japanese drumming. He is also a master of taiko folk forms, an educator with a master?s degree in Music, as well as an innovator in contemporary percussion collaborations.

The "East Meets West" ensemble includes from the East: Kyosuke Suzuki, one of Japan?s leading performers of festival music and Edo Sato Kagura (Shinto music), and also considered one of the top lion dancers of the Tokyo style (Hawaii concerts only); Yoshinori Nomi, one of the original Tokyo Cuban Boys, famous for introducing Latin music to Japan; virtuosic vibraphones player, Hitoshi Hamada, considered one of the best in Japan (continental US tour and select Hawaii performances). These musicians from Japan, combined with one of the most sought-after studio musicians in Los Angeles, Masakazu Yoshizawa on shakuhachi (bamboo flute), woodwinds and percussion; 17-string bass koto (Japanese zither) extraordinaire Shoko Hikage; and Endo?s dynamic taiko drummers from his Honolulu and continental US-based ensembles including Eien Hunter (taiko, vibraphones and percussion), Kirstin Pauka (taiko and percussion), and Joy Tanaka (taiko and percussion), form a diverse and high-caliber ensemble from East and West. The Honolulu concert will additionally feature all members of the Honolulu Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble with special guest, world-class drummer and percussionist, Noel Okimoto.

The Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble "East Meets West" performance tour celebrates Endo?s 30 years of devotion to honing and developing his art, but also aims to further the appreciation of taiko at its finest. By assembling high-caliber artists from Japan and the U.S. who are versed in the traditional and are also innovators of creative collaborative work, new heights can be attained. Endo?s music and stunning performances appeal to all people regardless of culture, age, or gender. Accompanying many of the concerts are educational opportunities for master classes in taiko, bamboo flutes, vibraphones, drumset, Japanese and world percussion, as well as lecture-demonstrations titled "The Art of Taiko."

This tour is being presented by TRADEX, a National Organization for Traditional Artists Exchange, and is supported in part by the Japan Foundation ? Performing Arts Japan, the Freeman Foundation, and Inspiration Interiors. Programs will be presented in Hawaii (Big Island, Honolulu, Kauai, Maui), North Carolina, Maryland, Philadelphia, New York, Connecticut, and California.

Ticket Prices: $10 - $15 - $20 - $25