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Weblog of Kaoru Watanabe, NY based Flute/Fue player

Filtering by Author: Talullah Calderwood Pratt

YEAR END GREETINGS

December 30, 2024Talullah Calderwood Pratt

2024 started with word that funding from Mellon Foundation came through for my new initiative, Bloodlines Interwoven, presented by Baryshnikov Arts Center.

I've written about it quite a bit, so I'll keep it brief here, but without a doubt, Bloodlines has been a highlight of my career, a crowning accomplishment that merged so many elements of my professional and personal life. While I am critical of many aspects of my planning and execution of the festival, I also can savor the overwhelming feeling of joy and gratitude I have for the opportunity. We are still in the planning phase of Bloodlines 2025 and beyond, but I want you to know that it is happening, with announcements coming as soon as possible!

Bloodlines Interwoven: Mino Cinelu, Nasheet Waits, me, Susie Ibarra, Maeve Gilchrist, Jeffrey Zeigler, Matt Garrison, Rajna Swaminathan, Martha Redbone, Jen Shyu, Du Yun, Amir ElSaffar, Alicia Hall Moran, Layale Chaker, and Adam O’Farrill

Besides Bloodlines, I performed in projects with such artists as Tomas Fujiwara, Patricia Brenan, Tim Keiper, Adam Rudolph, Stephen Haynes, Alex Marcelo, and a very fun concert with the great Andre 3000, in such locals as Lincoln Center, The Stone, Roulette, BAM, Texas A&M University, and the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN just to name a few.

I'm a co-producer and one of the composers (Fugaku Sanjurokkei) on a recently released Silkroad Ensemble album called American Railroad on Nonesuch Records. Silkroad also went on a ten-city tour in the fall, performing music from this Railroad project.

One project I was involved with that came out this year was an animated film, Ultraman Rising, on Netflix. I've been an Ultraman fan since my relatives sent various manga from Japan when I was a young boy. In the fall of 2023, I went to Tokyo to record music for the soundtrack of the latest addition to the canon. I brought in some long-time collaborators, Semba Kiyohiko and Tsuji Masaru, to record music written by Scot Stafford, using a roomful of beautiful taiko provided by Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten. Big shout out to my good friend Charlene Huang, who pulled me into this project!

My last show of the year was a fun improvised performance with Johnathan Goldberger, Steven Bernstein, and Ben Perowski at my friend Blake Tovin's Symbol Audio studio in Nyack, NY on December 27th.

In 2025, I will turn 50 (!!!) and have played music professionally for 25 years. My theme word for the year is BUNPUKU, or "spreading fortune and joy." I'm developing a few different projects - a new album, new large-scale theatrical works, a small TV appearance, performances in the US, Europe, and Japan, and, of course, Bloodlines Interwoven to, in my small way, try to counter the injustice, the pain and suffering in the world.

As I get older, I'm even more appreciative of the support, guidance, trust, friendship, and opportunities countless people have given me, starting with my parents, partner Yurie, and daughter Shinobu.

Hope to see you all soon in the New Year!

Kaoru Watanabe and Bloodlines
January 10th
Winter Jazzfest
Featuring this ridiculous cast of musicians:
Mino Cinelu / Layale Chaker / Amir Elsaffar / Matthew Garrison / Maeve Gilchrist / Alicia Hall Moran / Nasheet Waits / Martha Redbone / Jeffrey Zeigler

Silkroad Ensemble Percussion
January 25 Fairfax, VA - George Mason University
January 26 Harrisonburg, VA - Forbes Center for the Performing Arts
January 27 Pittsburgh, PA - Byham Theater

Adam Rudolph's Sunrise Quartet
February 19
Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Black Diamond

Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi
March 1, 2, 3
Blue Note Tokyo

Adam Rudolph's Sunrise Quartet
March 29th
Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, TN

Performance with André 3000 and Upcoming Tour with Silkroad Ensemble

November 06, 2024Talullah Calderwood Pratt

Hello Everyone,

Summer was productive—not many performances but lots of time spent composing, developing works, and planning for the next stage.

I did have a very special encounter just last weekend as of this writing. My brother-in-arms, the great Adam Rudolph—a pioneer in bringing together rhythms/rituals/music from around the world and fusing them with Black American jazz and blues sensibilities—recommended and strongly advocated for me to perform with the great artist André 3000 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

André doesn't need an introduction from me—he's in the echelon of one of the top rappers in the history of hip-hop as well as the artist who brought us Hey Ya!, the theme song of the year 2003—but I've watched his artistic development with even more personal interest as of a few years ago, when he publicly declared he was taking a break from rapping and was switching his focus to playing flutes. Over the years, he has amassed bamboo, wooden and clay flutes from around the world and became obsessed with playing them—famously practicing them as he strolled around Venice, California, near his home. He released an album called New Blue Sun in 2023 of free-form, flute improvisations blanketed in gentle synthesizers and ambient percussion.

Because he's a multi-Grammy Award winning global icon, I watched with interest how the world embraced this sharp left-turn and applauded his rejection of commercialism and stifling societal norms placed on artists, embracing this "spiritual' and "healing" music.

I went to BAM at 2 pm, loaded and set up my drums for soundcheck and met André and the band on stage. André came over immediately and was enthralled by my instruments and my playing. We jammed a bit on the taiko and I presented him with a fue, telling him about the flute maker Ranjo. I also spoke of my journey and parallels with his—going from one genre to another and dealing with recreating a new identity. He was very humble and attentive. From there, we spent the next six hours in the green room, chatting about life, baseball, and music, and I started showing and teaching him various aspects of traditional Japanese music—how one must first learn how to walk, kneel, and bow when learning an instrument. I showed him kakegoe vocalization and how to speak in the Kyogen style. He was eager to try things out and asked lots of questions. He told me he was actually considering moving to Kamakura, Japan. I told him that's where much of my family is from and that my grandparents' tomb is in the most beautiful temple in Kamakura, Hokokuji.

For the concert, we improvised freely for an hour and a half. I loved the music, and I loved how we played the kind of music I often play in venues like the Stone or Roulette but in front of 2500 people, most of whom probably don't spend their Friday nights listening to a free improv show. The audience and venue responded with warmth and enthusiasm.

When I first started hearing about Dré's transformation into playing the flutes and how his new music was being featured in major periodicals and television, I asked myself - should I be upset/jealous/annoyed that this guy is getting all this attention after just starting to play basically the same instrument I've completely devoted my life to and have studied formally and have been developing my own voice on for decades? The answer was always no because A) I don't get upset/annoyed/jealous by other people's achievements (or try not to... lol) and B) I could sense that he approached music-making with humility and curiosity. He never even hinted that he considers himself a good flute player but that he simply loves to play the flute and loves the feeling of peace he gets from the practice.

Meeting him, talking to him, making music with him, all confirmed my impressions to be true.

NEXT UP:

I will be on the road for three weeks with Silkroad Ensemble and Rhiannon Giddens. We will start in Chicago and will travel all over the Midwest and down south before finishing the run at BAM in Brooklyn. We will be doing the new version of a program called American Railroad which explores the history of America by focusing on the building of the transcontinental railroad—not so much about the triumph of technology and industrialism but more about the Irish, Chinese and Japanese and other immigrants and the black workers that built the tracks, as well as the Native American communities that were devastated by it's arising.

Please see the schedule below:

NOV 7, 2024

Harris Theater

Chicago, IL