2m 4s: Lenght

December 19, 2015 7:30 pm Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago http://www2.mcachicago.org/event/tsukasa-taiko-reduction-2/ Reduction forefronts taiko’s central role in the musical experimentation of 1970s Tokyo. Directed by creative artist Tatsu Aoki, this hybrid program owes much to Aoki’s roots in a well-known artisan family and his role in Tokyo’s new wave of performance art. In contrast to the popular appeal of Taiko Legacy, the companion matinee program by Tsukasa Taiko that features ensemble work by three generations of taiko players, Reduction explores the quieter contours of space, silence, time, weight, and visual imagery to connect the viewer to the less obvious elements of beauty inherent in today’s Japanese art forms. The unearthly Ayako Kato, originally of Yokohama and currently one of Chicago’s leading contemporary dance improvisers, performs alongside formidable creative musicians including Nicole Mitchell on flutes, Ari Brown and Douglas R. Ewart on reeds, and others. The superb percussive talents of Eigen Aoki, Hamid Drake, and Michael Zerang and SHINTA from Japan demonstrate taiko’s complexity, in an extended improvisation set that also features the artists performing on snare drums and percussion. Additional guest artists in the program are Melody Takata and Francis Wong (San Francisco), Jonathan Chen (New York), and others to be announced. At MCA’s Edlis Neeson Theater, 220 East Chicago Ave. Buy tickets online: www.mcachicago.org/performances or call the MCA Box Office, 312.397.4010 MCA members $16 Nonmembers $20 Students $10