4/10/2023 0 Comments Murasaki sake lounge chicago il![]() ![]() The way you hold the bachi (stick), place your center of gravity, posture, mannerisms, mentality, and learn by the flow of your body are all very similar. “I think taiko is like the ‘kata ‘of kendo. Another characteristic of taiko is that there is no musical score, and everything is memorized by mouth. I play it as if it were a different instrument” says Jun. “Tatsu-san told me, ‘Forget the drums’ People with drumming experience tend to try to beat and rhythm, but taiko is a completely different percussion instrument from drums. “Tatsu-san allowed me, still an inexperienced student, to join the ‘MIYUMI project’ led by Tatsu-san as a drummer on the big stage of the Chicago Jazz Festival.” Tatsu invited Jun to join “Tsukasa Taiko” in 2010, and he began learning taiko from scratch. Tatsu, the head of the largest Taiko dojo in the Midwest, “Tsukasa Taiko”, and also a leading musician, educator, experimental filmmaker, and inheritor of traditional performing arts, discovered Jun’s talent as a drummer. Tatsu Aoki, a Japanese bassist in Chicago, through a mutual acquaintance. While in college, Jun was involved in live performances with an experimental music band he formed with students from other universities and worked part-time as a bartender. Similarities and Differences – The Road to Taiko Connected by Drums At the university, he studied with Paul Wertico, who was active in a band called the Pat Metheny Group. He chose the jazz department not because he particularly liked jazz but because he thought it would help him learn as a drummer. ![]() After trial enrolment at several schools, he enrolled in the jazz drum major program at Roosevelt University Chicago College of the Arts and Performing Arts, where he liked the city and the atmosphere on campus. Jun, 19 years old and “really bad at English”, made his first big decision and crossed the ocean with great enthusiasm. But I didn’t think I could make a living as a musician.” So, he narrowed his focus to studying music at an American university and began his preparations. “I didn’t want to go to a Japanese university. He had already decided on a career path after graduation when he was a sophomore in high school. Jun Takanarita (“Jun”) has been an accomplished classical piano player since he was a child and was a drummer in a rock band during his high school years. The driving force behind his success was his “reluctance to give up”. He performs his three jobs in perfect balance as a bar owner, a taiko performer, and a band member, constantly calmly assessing where he should be and living a flexible life. Jun Takanarita owns three bars in the Chicago area and has been in the U.S. Jun Takanarita, Bar and restaurant owner (Murasaki, Summertime Jazz Cafe/Lounge, Nina Karaoke House), Drummer and Taiko Performer and Japan through business, education, art, culture and more. Our new series, TSUNAGU, will feature inspirational people who connect the U.S. Whether it is connecting employers to job seekers or bringing different cultures together, we at Activ8 value the bridge-builders who make our world a better place every day. ![]()
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