I’ve been living in NYC for the past ten years, but now it looks like I’ll be moving up to Waterville, Maine for the first five months of 2010. I’ll have the privilege of being an artist-in-residence at Colby College, teaching a course on taiko and working with the student-run taiko group. The entries in this blog will be directed towards the Colby Taiko Group and the probationary members of Soh Daiko (in this way, please forgive the didactic tone in some posts), but hopefully some of the information will be applicable to other taiko drummers and beginning groups. If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments, please email me!
As we all know, there are numerous styles and techniques within the world of kumi daiko. I won’t be able to talk intelligently about all of these different approaches, but I do hope to cover some basic techniques in future posts. It goes without saying that person-to-person instruction is much more important than anything you may read in this blog. If there is a well-regarded taiko drummer or group in your area, please take advantage of their instruction. In any case, here’s a short bio so you are aware of my background and stylistic preferences.
Wynn Yamami is a pianist, composer, percussionist and taiko drummer living in NYC. He began his taiko studies with the San Jose Junior Taiko Group and later trained with Soh Daiko, Kiyonari Tosha of the Nihon Taiko Dojo, Takada Yosuke of the Tokyo Chindon Club, the Tachibana School of Nihon Buyou, and Terada Yoshitaka. He has performed with a wide variety of musicians including Arturo O’Farrill and the Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Badal Roy, Giovanni Hidalgo, Jason Kao Hwang, Sang Won Park, and Korn at such venues as the Knitting Factory, Galapagos, Birdland, Vision Festival, Merkin Concert Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium. He has performed taiko and percussion for theater and dance productions at the NYC Fringe Festival and the United Nations and has appeared in television commercials and programs for the US Open, Anime Network, Iron Chef, and MTV Unplugged.
Wynn leads the Japanese street music group HAPPYFUNSMILE, the experimental trio KIOKU, and regularly performs with SOH DAIKO, the TACHIBANA DANCE GROUP, and the Japanese gypsy rock group KAGERO. He has taught at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division, Queensborough Community College, New York University, Rutgers University, and currently teaches at Westminster Choir College in Princeton and Columbia University.
While I have studied with many different performers and teachers, I can’t say that I am consciously attempting to carry on a certain style or lineage. In other words, all mistakes are my own.
