Performers Bio
1. Jimi Nakagawa: taiko
Jimi started playing drums when he was in high school and performed with local bands in
Japan and San Francisco.
In 1987, Jimi joined the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, directed by Grand Master Seiichi
Tanaka and became a performing member and instructor to adults and children. In 1997,
he returned to Japan to continue his study of taiko and to perform with Sukeroku Daiko
Hozonkai and master Kenjiro Maru of the Wakayama style festival music. In 2009 and
2010, he was granted by NPO Infusion to study "tuzumi, " a Japanse hand drum, with a
Master Saburo Mochizuki in Tokyo. In addition to studying Japanese traditonal music,
he has also studied jazz with celebrated drummer Robert Kaufman, a former professor at
the Berkley College of Music.
In 1999, he and three other members founded a San Francisco Bay Area based taiko
group, Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble and started his taiko school in Oakland.
Jimi has collaborated with Robert Moses and Robert Moses Kin, Dr. Anthony Brown and
the Asian American Orchestra, Steven Kent/Ancient Future with renowned musician
Habib Kahn and jazz/fusion guiterlist, Nugen Le. Currently, Jimi is performing in Somei
Yoshino Taiko Ensamble, as well as Essence, which is led by a Shakuhachi player,
Masayuki Koga. Jimi's refined but driving stickwork has been featured in film, video and
on stage.
2. Aaron Germain: electric bass and up-right bass
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Bassist, Aaron Germain, grew up in Massachusetts, but has lived in the San
Francisco bay area since 2000. Playing both upright and electric basses, he is
adept at diverse genres of music. Aaron can be seem playing, straight-ahead jazz,
cabaret, modern jazz, r&b, funk, salsa, brazilian, west african, indian, odd-meter,
country, pop, ect. His philosophy has always been, to be picky about quality, but
not genre. He is also a composer, and his debut album, "Before You Go" can be
found on his website www.aarongermain.com.
Over the years, Aaron has performed with artists such as:
Yusef Lateef
Stanley Jordon
Andy Narell
Bonnie Raitt
Michael Wolff
Nguyen Le
Paul McCandless
Francisco Aquabella
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Melba Moore
Mary Wilson
Barry Finnerty
Paula West
Jacqui Naylor
Dwight Trible
Eddie Marshal
Dave Ellis
Babatunde Lea
Gordon Stone
Kenny Washington
Josh Jones
Akira Tana
Jamie Davis
among many others...
He has performed at venues such as, the Blue Note (NY), Scullers (Boston),
The House of Blues (Boston), The Blues Alley (Washington DC), Zanzibar Blue
(Philadelphia), Yoshis (SF), Yoshis (Oakland), The Jazz School (Berkeley),
Humphrey's by the Bay (San Diego), The Fillmore (SF), Dakotas (Minneapolis),
The Iron Horse (Northampton), Herbst Theatre (SF), Kuumbwa (Santa Cruz), Le
Club Jazz (Kyoto), Cafe Yorozuya (Kobe), Z Imagine (Tokyo), Donfan (Tokyo),
MEG (Tokyo), Bar T.T. Funk (Tokyo), The San Francisco Jazz Festival, The
North Beach Jazz Festival, The Fillmore Jazz Festival, The San Jose Jazz Festival,
and the Drumming in the New Millenium Festival in front of the Great Pyramids
of Egypt (December of 1999)
3. Van-Anh Vanessa Vo: dan Tranh, dan Bau, dan T’rung, percussion,
vocal, dan Da (stone Xylophone)
Van-Anh Vanessa Vo dedicates her life to creating music on the dan Tranh
(16-string zither) and fusing her traditional Vietnamese foundation with a freshness of
new structures and compositions. Since settled in California, she has been a collaborator
and solo artist with such musicians and groups as Kronos Quatet, SOMEI Taiko
Ensemble, Wobbly World , Nguyen Le, Paul McCandless, Ali Ryerson, Charles Loos, as
well as lending her talents to fundraising events for several non-profit organizations.
Continually cultivates the beauty and versatility of the dan Tranh to feature her beloved
instrument in an international music genre, Van-Anh has been co-composer and arranger
for the Oscar® nomimated and Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary,
Daughter from Danang (2002), the Emmy® Award-winning film and soundtrack for
Bolinao 52 (2008), and the multiple award-winning film A Village Called Versailles
(2009). Recently, Van-Anh released her newest CD “She’s Not She” with award-winning
composer Do Bao.
Van-Anh began studying dan tranh from the age of four, and graduated with
distinction from and taught at the Vietnam Academy of Music. In 1995, Van-Anh won
championship in the Vietnam National Dan Tranh Competition along with the first prize
for best solo performance of modern folk music. She has since performed in more than
fourteen countries and recorded in many broadcast programs inside and outside of
Vietnam. Her first CD “Twelve Months, Four Seasons” was released in 2002.
In addition to dan tranh, Van-Anh also performs as soloist on the monochord
(bau), the 36-string hammered dulcimer (dan tam thap luc), the bamboo xylophone (dan
t’rung), the k’longput, traditional drums (trong), and Chinese guzheng. She lives and
teaches dan tranh and other Vietnamese traditional instruments in Fremont, California.
For further information regarding dan tranh, traditional Vietnamese traditional music, or
future
CDs,
please
dantranhviet@vananhvo.com.
visit
website:
www.vananhvo.com
or
email: