Asian Improv aRts Midwest (AIRMW), directed by multi-instrumentalist and media artist Tatsu Aoki and Tsukasa Taiko, present the 22nd edition of “Taiko Legacy” at the Edlis Neeson Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E. Chicago Ave. at 2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 20. “Taiko Legacy 22” represents a return to the original essence of theatrical taiko. Tsukasa's performance unit, Gintenkai, will be joined by the next generation of community performers and longtime collaborators Melody Takata and members of GenRyu Arts from San Francisco to present the simplified grandeur of contemporary taiko with traditional aesthetics. Additional featured artists will include Yoshinojo Fujima, Ikunojo Fujima and Kioto Aoki.
For more than two decades AIRMW’s “Taiko Legacy” concerts have showcased performative arrangements of original compositions by Tsukasa Taiko recontextualizing cultural traditions within contemporary ecologies of art, music and theater. Says Aoki, “I grew up playing taiko and shamisen since age 4 and was part of a theatrical performing crew during my adolescence. It was then I developed a life goal to help maintain the traditional Japanese theatrical arts and it is with that goal in mind we present the annual ‘Taiko Legacy’ concerts.”
Literally meaning “drum,” taiko is known for its thunderous sound and stunning, stylized choreography. The 2,000-year-old taiko has its roots in Japanese court, theater, religious/ceremonial and festival music performance, where the taiko was just one instrument of many that comprised the music ensembles. It has become a celebrated symbol of heritage and culture for the Japanese American community.
Tickets for the 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 “Taiko Legacy 22” concert are $25 ($20 Seniors 65+; $10 Students and Teachers with ID). To order tickets and for more information visit airmw.org/taikolegacy.
“Taiko Legacy 22” will be preceded by the “Reduction 11” concert at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 19, also at the Edlis Neeson Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA Chicago), 220 E. Chicago Ave. An annual concert exploring the fascinating world of traditional Japanese music aesthetics and jazz, this year’s “Reduction” concert is co-presented by Asian Improv aRts Midwest / Tsukasa Taiko and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in conjunction with MCA Chicago’s current exhibition, “Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind.”
“Reduction 11” will feature the music of Yoko Ono’s “SKYLANDING” project originally recorded by Tatsu Aoki’s The MIYUMI Project in 2016 and created in collaboration with Ono for her sculpture in Jackson Park. Artists performing at the concert will include Tatsu Aoki, Nicole Mitchell, Michael Zerang, Hamid Drake, Dee Alexander, Mwata Bowden, Edward Wilkerson Jr., Rami Atassi, Jamie Kempkers, Eigen Aoki, Kioto Aoki and Gintenkai Performing Unit at Tsukasa Taiko.
“Reduction 11” is the last of this year’s 30th anniversary of the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival programming, celebrating three decades of jazz and experimental music by Asian and Asian Americans in Chicago. A pre-show performance at 6:30 p.m. will feature Kioto Aoki and Helen Nagata playing an original Gintenkai piece, “Hatakun,” for the final public presentation of the Folk Arts Mentorship Program grant supported by the Illinois Arts Council.
Tickets for the 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19 “Reduction 11” concert are $25 ($20 Seniors 65+; $10 Students and Teachers with ID). For tickets and more information visit mcachicago.org.
“Taiko Legacy 22” and “Reduction 11” are program of Asian Improv aRts Midwest (AIRMW) and are supported by general operating support received from the Illinois Arts Council Agency; the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; the Alphawood Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), The Field Foundation, the Walder Foundation, the Joyce Foundation and a special project grant from John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Bios
Asian Improv aRts Midwest’s (AIRMW) mission is to build a vital, self-empowered Asian American Community in the Chicago area by advancing the understanding and profile of Asian American cultures through the traditional and contemporary cultural arts. Through in-house programs and collaborative projects, AIRMW is dedicated to creating productive relationships with artists, communities, and institutions. It continuously strives to maintain the responsibility of professionalism as part of cultural preservation by producing high quality arts programs that accurately reflect the multicultural, multi-ethnic reality of Chicago and the nation.
In 1984 Chicago artist and community leader Tatsu Aoki founded Innocent Eyes and Lenses (IEL) in response to the need for an organization dedicated to presenting Asian American artists and programs that were relevant to the community. In 2004 IEL was renamed Asian Improv aRts Midwest to reflect the community the organization was serving and recognize the 20-year partnership with the West Coast-based Asian Improv aRts. In 2022, thanks in part to community supporters, members and the Chicago Cultural Treasures Grant by IFF, AIRMW was able to purchase a permanent home at 4875 N. Elston. The space officially opened in February 2023 and houses the company’s administration offices and rehearsal space and is the site for classes and select special events. For more information visit www.airmw.org.
Tatsu Aoki is a prolific composer and performer of traditional and experimental music forms, a filmmaker, and an educator. In May 2018, Aoki was honored as the first recipient of the “George Award,” for his years of support, recording, and performance with renowned American Jazz and soul guitarist George Freeman. As Executive Director of AIRMW, an Asian American cultural arts presenter organization, Aoki has initiated and managed several programs to advance the understanding of traditional arts and community through the arts, including the annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, the Tsukasa Taiko Legacy, and the Toyoakimoto Shamisen residency projects. Aoki was selected by the Asian American Advisory Council of Illinois in 2017 for the Community Service Award from the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White. He also received the prestigious Commendation for the Promotion of Japanese Culture from the Foreign Ministry in Japan, which is given to individuals with outstanding achievements in international fields and acknowledges the recipient’s contributions to the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries.
Tsukasa Taiko, a program of AIRMW, also presents programs, lectures, and demonstrations designed to advance the understanding of taiko and its role in Asian and Asian American culture. Tsukasa Taiko works closely with the public schools and community centers of the Chicago area, presenting demonstrations, classes, performances, and special workshops held throughout the year. As part of AIRMW's mission to maintain the traditions of folk music, Tsukasa Taiko works to maintain the traditional pedagogical models of teaching and apprenticeship and is one of the largest community-based, artist-led taiko programs in the Chicagoland area. Tsukasa Taiko is led by Taiko artist Kioto Aoki.
Aoki's ensemble, The MIYUMI Project, is one of the longest-standing amalgams of Chicago's avant-garde jazz and Japanese traditional music. Drawing from aesthetics rooted in the Japanese tradition and Japanese taiko drumming, it explores the nexus of cultures: Asian and American; Japanese and African; past and present. The improvised compositions provide a conceptual framework for each band member to interpret, which in turn coalesce and transform into a vast contemporary expanse of musical immersion for the audience. Over the past two decades, each successive grouping of The MIYUMI Project musicians has contributed to the unique blending of modern application with a traditional sensibility. The final result is a continuous evolution of a "live and raw" musical happening. In 2017 the band was chosen as the official musical presenters for both the groundbreaking and unveiling of Yoko Ono’s “SKYLANDING” project, which resulted in the Yoko Ono’s produced, “SKYLANDING” album. The “Best of MIYUMI Project” Double Vinyl and CD was released in 2020 by FPE records.