GHOSTS
& GIRLS
Ghosts
& Girls: Chikamatsu's unstaged masterpiece The Legend of the
Morning Glory comes alive with the haunting eloquence of master
teller Brenda Wong Aoki, the dynamic women drummers of Maze Daiko,
the mystic melodies of Tokyo's premiere shakuhachi artist Christopher
Yohmei, the dance explorations by KK Aoki Izu, woven together
under the musical direction of Mark Izu.
The
Legend of the Morning Glory
Ghosts and Girls is a haunting love tale about a powerful samurai's
daughter who falls in love with a boy from a poor family. Despite
her father's attempts to have her marry one of his rich suitors,
the girl is forever determined to marry the poor boy whose love
poem about the morning glory blows into her boat. Needing to escape,
she runs away to a world outside her father's castle and becomes
the Morning Glory, an itinerant storyteller famed for her tale
of lost love.
Saturday
May 31st, 8:00 p.m. Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 at the Door
Call
510-865-5060 to charge Tix by phone
Brenda
Wong Aoki has established a new genre as a contemporary
storyteller. A writer, performer, and recording artist of
Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Scots descent, her stories
blend myth, streetlore, and real life. These dramatic presentations
synthesize Kyogen & Noh (Japanese traditional theater),
modern dance, and live jazz. Brenda has been the recipient
of the ASCAP award, Wattis artists in residence at Yerba
Buena, Rockerfeller Foundation multiarts award, and NEA
theater fellowships.
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MARK
IZU's compositions are characterized by his seamless
integration of jazz with other music traditions, his mastery
of cross-cultural instrumentation, and his ability to compose
in many musical disciplines. As the Artistic Director of
the Asian American Jazz Festival for 18 years, Izu has gained
national and international attention for developing a new
musical genre --Asian American Jazz-- and has performed
with jazz artists such as James Newton, Steve Lacy, Zakir
Hussain, George Lewis, Cecil Taylor, Anthony Brown, Jon
Jang, and Jin Hi Kim. Izu plays acoustic bass as well as
several traditional Asian instruments such as the sheng
(Chinese multi-reed instrument) and sho (Japanese multi-reed
instrument).
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KAI KANE AOKI
IZU, aka KK
KK is a graduate
of Nihonmachi Little Friends and currently attends 5th grade
at Marin Country Day School were he sings in the chorus.
He has known Mark Izu and Brenda Aoki all his life and loves
to eat eggs. He made his professional 2002 debut in Hong
Kong and San Francisco. KK is proud to be studying taiko
with Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka and the San Francisco Taiko
Dojo.Carmel Bach Festival.
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Maze
Daiko creates intricate rhythms that fill the stage
with energetic choreography and vibrant sound. Mazeru is
the Japanese word for "mix" and taiko (daiko)
is the Japanese word for "drum". Maze Daiko creates
an exciting mix of instrumentation and rhythms with the
physical elegance and powerful sounds of taiko. Ensemble
members include: Janet Koike, Kathryn Cabunoc, Carolyn West,
Cristine Sato and Bean (aka Tina Blaine - also featured
on djembe, dumbek and marimba), plus special guest artist,
Elaine Fong, Director of Odaiko New England.
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