Yumiko Tanaka, Koji Ota, Yoshino

Koji Ota × Yumiko Tanaka × Yoshino Session

[Performers] Koji Ota (Drums), Yumiko Tanaka (Gidayu Shamisen/Electric Taishogoto), Yono (Biwa)

[Admission] Donation-based (plus a 500 yen cover charge and a drink)

[Reservations] http://www.bloc.jp/barisshee/

Yoshino　Satsuma Biwa

A Japanese Satsuma biwa player and vocalist. After performing in a punk band, she studied jazz guitar under Kazuhiko Tsumura, a jazz guitarist who passed away in June 2015. She later transitioned to playing the Satsuma biwa and now performs while accompanying herself on the instrument. Currently, in addition to performing classical solo pieces on the Satsuma biwa, she engages in numerous improvisational sessions with jazz and contemporary musicians playing instruments such as the saxophone, trumpet, and bass. She is highly regarded for her sessions with players active in the cutting-edge improvisational scene, including a duo with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and a trio with bassist Masaaki Kikuchi and others.

Koji Ota　Drums

He began studying under professional drummer Hiroki Murakami while still in college. He began his professional career in 1998 as a session drummer for Kuki Kōdan. He has also worked as a session drummer on recordings and as a live support drummer for various artists.

In recent years, he has performed with □□□ (Kuchiroro), Shigeru Suzuki, Anna Takeuchi, Koresawa,

Yumi Sakaguchi, Watanabe Baby, Hypnosismic, Misato Watanabe,

Moonriders’ Yoshiaki Shirai’s new band “for instance,”

“stico” with Base Ball Bear’s Shiori Sekine, and The Bassons led by rapper Darth Raider, among others.

He also actively participates in improvisational and free jam sessions.

https://twitter.com/cozy_ism

Yumiko Tanaka—Gidayū Shamisen / Electric Taishōgoto

Yumiko Tanaka—Gidayū Shamisen / Electric Taishōgoto

She completed her master’s degree in musicology at the Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School. As an apprentice to the 4th-generation Takemoto Koshiji-dayū, she studied Gidayū shamisen and Gidayū-bushi under the 4th-generation Nozawa Kinshi, Tsurusawa Jūteru, and Takemoto Komanosuke, training in classical repertoire. She received the Minister of Education’s New Artist Award at the 1990 Arts Selection Awards. In 2009, she received comprehensive certification as an Important Intangible Cultural Property holder as a member of the Gidayū-bushi Preservation Society. She is active in various fields both domestically and internationally, including improvisational music, contemporary music, theater music, film music, and media art, and has performed in 30 countries worldwide. Her credits include Yuji Takahashi’s band “Ito,” Yoshihide Otomo’s band “GROUND ZERO,” Heiner Goebbels’s music theater piece *Hashirigaki*, Basil Twist’s contemporary puppet theater production *Dogugaeshi*, and the soundtrack for *SHOGUN*. CDs: *Tayutauta* and *yumiko tanaka and roger turner at OTOOTO*; DVD: *Yumiko Tanaka Music Performance*; editor and author of *The Complete Book of the Shamisen*; co-author of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s *schola vol. 14: Traditional Japanese Music*. Recipient of the 2006 ACC Grant and the 2008 Agency for Cultural Affairs Special Overseas Training Program. Recipient of the Suntory Arts Foundation’s 24th Keizo Saji Award for “Yumiko Tanaka Recital 2024: The Sonic World of the Gidayū Shamisen.”