AIRMW To Present TAIKO LEGACY 22 At The Museum Of Contemporary Art Chicago

Asian Improv aRts Midwest (AIRMW), directed by multi-instrumentalist and media artist Tatsu Aoki and Tsukasa Taiko, will present TAIKO LEGACY 22 at the Edlis Neeson Theater at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago on Saturday, December 20 at 2 p.m.

The concert will mark the twenty-second edition of the annual program. The event will be preceded by REDUCTION 11 on Friday, December 19 at 7 p.m., co-presented with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in conjunction with the exhibition Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind.

Taiko Legacy 22 will feature Tsukasa’s performance unit, Gintenkai, joined by community performers and longtime collaborators Melody Takata and members of GenRyu Arts from San Francisco. Additional featured artists will include Yoshinojo Fujima, Ikunojo Fujima, and Kioto Aoki. The program will emphasize the original theatrical roots of taiko and its continued evolution within contemporary performance.

For more than two decades, Taiko Legacy has showcased performative arrangements of Tsukasa Taiko compositions within shifting artistic and cultural contexts. “I grew up playing taiko and shamisen since age 4 and was part of a theatrical performing crew during my adolescence,” Aoki said. “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.”

On Friday, December 19, REDUCTION 11 will explore intersections between traditional Japanese music aesthetics and jazz. The concert will feature music from Yoko Ono’s SKYLANDING project, originally recorded by Tatsu Aoki’s The MIYUMI Project in 2016. Performers 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 the Gintenkai Performing Unit at Tsukasa Taiko.

A pre-show performance at 6:30 p.m. will include Kioto Aoki and Helen Nagata performing an original Gintenkai piece titled “Hatakun” as the concluding presentation of the Folk Arts Mentorship Program grant supported by the Illinois Arts Council. Reduction 11 concludes programming for the thirtieth anniversary year of the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival.

TICKETING INFORMATION

TAIKO LEGACY 22
December 20 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $25; $20 Seniors 65+; $10 Students and Teachers with ID
More information: airmw.org/taikolegacy

REDUCTION 11
December 19 at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $25; $20 Seniors 65+; $10 Students and Teachers with ID
More information: mcachicago.org