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| Tatsu Aoki's Miyumi Project: East Meets the Rest In conjunction with the May 9th Steppenwolf performance, Southport Records will celebrate the release of the fourth CD from The Miyumi Project, The Miyumi Project Live In Poland. A champagne reception will follow the event! Artists and Musicians attending the reception will be on hand to sign copies of the new CD release. There will be a giveaway with 10 free The Miyumi Project Live In Poland CDs, along with the grand prize package of 11 Tatsu Aoki CDs from the Southport Records Catalog. Tatsu Aoki and his band, The Miyumi Project, celebrate the collaboration between African- American and Asian-American jazz artists with a multi-generational group fusing Avant Garde jazz with taiko drumming. Featuring many of Chicago's leading musicians, including Mwata Bowden, Jeff Chan, Jonathan Chen, Amy Homma, Cinatsu Nakano, Yoko Noge, Melody Takata, Joel Wanek, Francis Wong and Hide Yoshihashi, this performance will also feature members of the Japanese American Service Committee's Tsukasa Taiko Youth Program. Tatsu Aoki is a prolific musician, bassist/composer, educator and ensemble leader. He is the international producer for Chicago's Southport Records, founder and artistic director of the Chicago Asian-American Jazz Festival and is an artist-in-residence at the Japanese American Service Committee. Aoki began his artistic collaboration with Southport Records on the CD If It Wasn't For Paul, a direct to digital recording with label co-founder and pianist/composer Bradley Parker-Sparrow. In the last ten years Aoki's Southport excursions have included recordings with Famoudou Don Moye, Roscoe Mitchell, Von Freeman, George Freeman, Fred Anderson and Joanie Pallatto. Southport Records was founded in 1977 by pianist/composer/engineer Bradley Parker-Sparrow in response to the lack of production of new music in Chicago, from Chicago. The label focuses on new music of any form from Chicago artists and projects it to a world market. “Traffic continues Steppenwolf's season-long conversation about what it means to be an American - this time with a decidedly made-in-Chicago focus. Traffic provides a vibrant platform for dialogue between our multi-generational audience and an eclectic pool of artists," comments Director of the Traffic Arts Series, Sylvia Ewing. “Traffic provides the opportunity for Steppenwolf to be a place where people come together for an experience that bridges entertainment and discovery, the familiar and the unknown." Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ, 91.5 FM) is planning to re-broadcast the one-night only Traffic events as part of its partnership with Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. Street and lot parking are available. Assistive listening devices are available for every performance. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |