Portland Taiko drums up a rhythm that cannot be beat
MUSIC REVIEW, September 10, 2000
By JAMES MCQUILLEN, Special writer, The Oregonian
The Newmark Theater at the Portland Center for the Performing arts may need a seismic upgrade sooner than anyone anticipated if Portland Taiko plans many more performances there. Nearly 2? hours worth of relentless rhythms during Friday night’s “Crossings” concert may well have affected the structural supports. They certainly moved the sold-out crowd.
The centerpiece of the evening - figuratively speaking, as it was actually the finale -- was the world premiere of “Wind, Water, and Wood” by Kenny Endo, an American taiko master and the first non-Japanese player to receive a natori, or formal stage name.
Endo conceived the piece as an evocation of the natural beauty of Oregon as expressed by taiko drums and other percussion instruments, and it was structured along the lines of jo-ha-kyu, a Japanese principle of aesthetic organization that calls for a slow introduction (jo) followed by a development section (ha) followed by a rapid denouement (kyu).
It began with a gentle series of notes on gongs and cymbals, conveying the sense of a breeze, followed by a transition to a more energetic representation of rain and rivers on the expanded ensemble. A third section offered a slow rhythm that progressed in an even accelerando as the movement progressed, the speed keeping up even as the volume dropped off at the end, to great effect. A wistful duet between violin and marimba followed, with the marimba then taking the violin’s melody in the joyous and finally explosive fifth movement.
“Wind, Water, and Wood” demonstrated in large scale what Endo showed in a solo before the piece: a keen sense of large rhythmic structures and an expansive palette. Although it was anchored by tight, driving bass notes on the Japanese drums, it carried layers of other sounds on top, including Ghanaian drums and marimbas, played by Portland percussionists Obo Addy and Jeffrey Peyton, both of whom improvised within the work’s fixed structures.
In this and in the rest of the wide-ranging program, which included several pieces from their recent CD “Making Waves,” Portland Taiko again demonstrated discipline, dedication, vast reserves of creative energy, and an unbridled expression of the sheer joy of beautiful drumming.
(uncut review)