IrishOboe

Leslie Soule planned and arranged for any interested JETs to meet up in Tokyo for a Kodo concert. Kodo is a famous taiko (Japanese drumming) group. Perhaps the most famous bit of trivia about them is that they are famous for playing long sequences of music in a sit-up position with their legs extended with the drum in-between and their torsos leaning back at 45 degrees to the ground. Taiko is about the visual as well as the rhythm, and Kodo pushes the limits. They live on an Island that’s dedicated to traditional arts for a third of the year practicing and preparing new music, then they tour Japan a third of the year and they tour the world that last third. I’m not a big taiko fan, but it seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. I’m glad didn’t, because it was possibly the best performance I’ve ever been to. (More)