* denotes current or former Katari Taiko member
Ashura
Kinnara Taiko
In both Hindu and Buddhist belief, an ashura is figure that embodies passions such as anger, pride, or greed. In this piece, taught to us by a Buddhist taiko ensemble from Los Angeles, two “teams” of drummers and percussionists compete against each other with driving rhythms and shouts, until at last they come together and play in unison.
Interlude
Kathy Shimizu*, 1999
A short piece perfect for scene changes (hence its name), Interlude is a duet for small drums in which the two parts speak back and forth, using changing emphasis to provide variety and a sense of forward motion.
Ja Sawago
Eileen Kage*, 1994
When we shout, “Ja sawago!” at the beginning of this song, we’re saying, “Let’s cause a commotion!” or “Let’s raise hell!” Inspired partially by rap music, this high-energy piece uses surreal lyrics about food, crows, bald girls, and long-haired boys, combined with multiple small percussion instruments, windmilling arm movements, and a syncopated basic rhythm to create a sense of playful abandon. Ja Sawago is a great way to start any show.
Matsuri
Traditional, arr. Seiichi Tanaka and Katari Taiko
The community festival or matsuri is an integral part of Japanese culture, and for hundreds of years, taiko has often played an important role in these celebrations, which include customs unique to each region, whether celebrating the harvest, honouring ancestors, or marking the passage of time. Mosttaiko groups in North America play a version of Matsuri, but each has their own style. One of the first pieces Katari Taiko ever performed, the core rhythm of “don doko don don” is said to evoke the sound of packhorses, once heard throughout the Japanese countryside.
Oedo
John Endo Greenaway*, 1982
The city we now know as Tokyo was once known as Edo, and it is believed that taiko drummers there began adopted movements and stances from the martial arts, creating a unique, flamboyant style of playing that included setting the drums on slanted stands. Oedo uses rhythms and forms that have their origins in the traditional festivals of Edo, but unlike the unison drumming that characterizes much of Japanese taiko, this piece showcases individual players, whose double-josuke solos highlight their own particular style, personality, and ability.
Renshu
Seiichi Tanaka
Tanaka Sensei, founder of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, is often credited with bringing taiko to North America, where its traditional Japanese forms encountered jazz, African polyrhythm, and other musical traditions and transformed into something new. He taught us Renshu, which means “practice,” and this is the first piece any Katari Taiko apprentice learns. It includes many of taiko’s basic rhythms, and its persistent, interlocking, and accelerating cadences illustrate the power of the drums at its most basic.
Shi Shi Mai
Traditional, arr. Katari Taiko
Another piece with ancient roots in the matsuri of Japanese village life, Shi Shi Mai is the Lion Dance, in which the big cat of the title encounters the vain and pesky Hyottoko, has a showdown with the playful but determined lady Okame, and dances into the audience bringing good luck – or bad luck, if he’s not treated kindly! Our lion mask was created by Vancouver’s Snake in the Grass Moving Theatre, as was his cape, which was inspired by West Coast First Nations design traditions. A great piece for kids, or any other audience who isn’t afraid to be nuzzled, chewed, or sat upon by a lion.
Talking Drums
John Endo Greenaway*, 1981
Our namesake piece (katari taiko means “talking drums”), this was Katari Taiko’s first original composition. Perhaps the most challenging piece in our current repertoire, it is a conversation between the different “voices” of Katari Taiko. From the sound of raindrops played on the shime to the rolling thunder of the big drums, from the droning and crashing of the gong to the metronome-like hyoshigi, and from the metallic ringing of the atarigane to the human voice itself, Talking Drums is a dramatic expression of the diversity of taiko.