Basic Information

Leadership Structure		Artistic Direction by Wynn Yamami
Primary Purpose of Group		professional

Background Information

Group's Mission and Motivation

Based in New York City, the musical group KIOKU presents traditional Asian folk music within a new context of collaborative experimentation and improvisation. The trio utilizes East and Southeast Asian percussion (Japanese taiko, Korean gongs, and Filipino kulintang), live laptop electronics and alto saxophone. While deeply committed to the preservation of musical traditions, KIOKU (Japanese for "memory") acknowledges the plasticity of tradition and freely adopts musical techniques found within improv-based and new music circles.

List of Founding Members

Wynn Yamami (taiko and percussion), Ali Sakkal (alto saxophone), Christopher Ariza (live laptop electronics)

Performances, Recordings, Publications

Signature Works
Please include title, composer, date of composition, special reason(s) for composition, and what the work represents to the group.

Pinari, Binalig, The Drum Thing (Coltrane), Miyake