Tune in to In All Languages, Sunday December 14th at 11pm to hear an interview of the Japanese-American musician Kaoru Watanabe
Kaoru Watanabe is a practitioner of various Japanese transverse bamboo fue or flutes, the taiko drum as well as the Western flute. A rare musician, his music can be described as an evershifting blend of the folk and classical traditions of Japan with contemporary improvisational and experimental music. Watanabe has performed with such renowned artists as Jason Moran, Bando Tamasaburo, Kiyohiko Semba and was a performing member and artistic director of the iconic Japanese taiko ensemble Kodo. Watanabe has performed and taught in Europe, South, Central and North Americas and Japan. He is currently based in New York, performing and teaching Japanese flutes and drums at his taiko school in Brooklyn and courses at Princeton University, Wesleyan University and Dickinson College. His fue are provided by master flute maker Ranjo.