Asian Improv aRts Midwest: “Reduction 9”

“Reduction” is a theatrical presentation with a goal to construct a bridge between tradition and modernity in a single performance and define the contemporary Asian American and Japanese American musical experience. Accentuating the potential and artistry of refined subdued taiko performance, “Reduction 9” presents free fluid improvisational compositions amongst the steady melodies and rhythms of traditional Japanese instrumentation.

For this 9th iteration of “Reduction,” AIRMW’s performance group Tsukasa Taiko will team up with a returning lineup of Grandmaster Chizuru Kineya from Tokyo, local Grandmaster Yoshinojo Fujima and Melody Takata and members of GenRyu Arts from San Francisco; alongside creative music legends percussionists Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang and jazz flutist/composer Nicole Mitchell. This year’s “Reduction” performance also features two new guests: New York-based koto player Yoko “Reikano” Kimura and classical dancer Kanshichinao Fujima from Japan.