(born September 19, 1957) is a multi-instrumentalist trained in traditional Japanese music (i.e.: taiko and shamisen), educator and experimental filmmaker. In his career as Chicago's Jazz and creative improvisor, he is mostly known as a long-standing bassist for Fred Anderson and he has also worked with George Freeman, and

Von Freeman Earle Lavon "Von" Freeman Sr. (October 3, 1923 – August 11, 2012) was an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, Freeman was exposed as a young child to jazz. His father, George, a city policeman, was a ...

in the 90s. Aoki also has curious recording projects with

Malachi Favors Malachi Favors (August 22, 1927 – January 30, 2004) was an American jazz bassist who played with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Biography "Favors's tendency to dissemble about his age was a well-known source of mirth to fellow musicians of his g ...

Roscoe Mitchell Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described him as "one of the key figure ...

Don Moye Donald Moye, Jr. (born May 23, 1946), known as Famoudou Don Moye, is an American jazz percussionist and drummer. He is most known for his involvement with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and is noted for his mastery of African and Caribbean percuss ...

Wu Man Wu Man (; born January 2, 1963) is a Chinese pipa player and composer. Trained in Pudong-style pipa performance at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, she is known for playing in a broad range of musical styles and introducing the pip ...

, and other internationally renowned artists. Aoki also directs cultural events that promote the history of Japanese artistic traditions and contemporary Asian influences in jazz. As the founder and artistic director of Asian Improv Arts Midwest, he hosts events such as the annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival and the Japanese American Service Committee's Tsukasa Taiko Legacy arts residency program.

Biography

Tatsu Aoki is an advocate for the Asian American community as well as a filmmaker, educator, composer and a performer of traditional and experimental music forms. He was born in Tokyo in 1957 to Toyoakimoto, an artisan family proficient in ''

okiya An is the lodging house/drinking establishment to which a or geisha is affiliated with during her career as a geisha. The is typically run by the "mother" () of the house, who handles a geisha's engagements, the development of her skills, and ...

'', the tradition of working as booking and training agents for

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...

in downtown Tokyo. Starting at the age of four, Aoki was part of his family's performance crew and received traditional Tokyo geisha cultural training and studies which combined history with creativity. In the late 1960s, during Tokyo's economic and social decline, many traditional family businesses were forced to close. With his grandmother's passing, he shifted his training to American pop and experimental music. In the early 1970s, he became a member of Gintenkai, an experimental ensemble that combined traditional music with Western forms. He began to work in small-gauge and experimental films, influenced by his biological father, who was a movie producer at

Shintoho was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios (which also included Daiei, Nikkatsu, Shochiku, Toei Company, and Toho) during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company ...

studio. In 1977, Aoki left Tokyo to study experimental filmmaking at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

, where he has taught film production and art history. He has produced more than thirty experimental films and performs on

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

shamisen The , also known as or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually b ...

, and

taiko are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese language, Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various J ...

. He was a visiting professor at Northwestern University, teaching courses in Asian American Arts Practices and Identity. He is the founder and artistic director of the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival. In 1999 he became president of Asian Improv Records in San Francisco. He has managed or produced more than fifty albums for the label, including the

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

and

Jon Jang Jon Jang (; born March 11, 1954) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Of Chinese ancestry, he specializes in music which combines elements of jazz and Asian musics, and is known for musical works exploring international as we ...

collaboration The Beijing Trio. Since 1995, Aoki has led the Miyumi Project ensemble. The Miyumi Project has had a varying number of musicians; the only continuous members have been Aioki and Mwata Bowden. With drummer Afifi Phillard they originally called the group Power Trio. In 2016, the Miyumi Project ensemble was the official musical presenter for

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

's ''Skylanding'' installation at Jackson Park in Chicago. Ono produced the band's album ''Skylanding''. In 2017, the Miyumi Project contributed to ''And Then They Came for Us'', a documentary about

internment of Japanese Americans United States home front during World War II, During World War II, the United States forcibly relocated and Internment, incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese Americans, Japanese descent in ten #Terminology debate, concentration camps opera ...

and released an album of the same name. For twenty years he has played bass for saxophonist Fred Anderson. He has also worked with

Hamid Drake Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Af ...

, Nicole Mitchell, and Jeff Parker and has had extensive recording processes with

Joseph Jarman Joseph Jarman (September 14, 1937 – January 9, 2019) was an American jazz musician, composer, poet, and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He was one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and a member of the ...

, and

. Aoki's suite ''Rooted: Origins of Now'', a four-movement suite for big band, premiered in 2001 at Ping Tom Memorial Park and was performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival and MCA Stage as part of the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival. Additional albums include ''Basser Live'' (1999) and ''Basser Live II'' (2005), recorded live at MCA Stage; ''Symphony of Two Cities'' (2002); and ''Posture of Reality with Wu Man'' (2003). In 2016 he toured as part of Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble. He leads Tsukasa Taiko, a traditional Japanese drumming group, and has performed with Toyoaki Shamisen Ensemble and Shubukai Classical Dance As executive director of Asian Improved arts Midwest, an Asian American cultural arts presenter organization, Aoki has initiated and managed several programs to advance the understanding of traditional arts, including the annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, the Tsukasa Taiko Legacy, and the Toyoaki Shamisen arts residency projects. He began making films in regular 8 gauge in early childhood. His biological father, Wahei Hoshino, was a movie producer in the 1960s and influenced his work in small gauge, experimental filmmaking. His

super 8 Super 8 or Super Eight may refer to: Film * Super 8 film, a motion picture film format released in 1965 * Super 8 film camera, a motion picture camera used to film Super 8mm motion picture format * ''Super 8'' (2011 film), a science-fiction f ...

diary films and experimental films with optical printing have been screened around the world. He presented the documentary ''That Asian Thing'' in 2008 and worked as a composer for the short film ''Farewell, Mr. Griswell'' in 2010. He has published sample versions of films such as ''FLUX Project'', ''Gate'', ''Puzzle - Part III'', ''Ah Sou Desuka: Is that So!'', and ''Solution A''.

Awards and honors

* 2001 Chicagoan of the Year, ''Chicago Tribune'' * 2007 Milestone Award, Asian American Institute * 2010 Cultural Achievement Award, Japan America Society of Chicago * 2014 Living in Our Culture Award, Japanese American Service Committee * 2015 Jazz Heroes Award, Jazz Journalists Association * 2017 Best Experimental Film, ''Light'', Canada International Film Festival * 2017 Commendation for the Promotion of Japanese Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan * 2017 Community Service Award, Asian American Advisory Council of Illinois, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White * 2018 George Award, George Freeman * 2018 Silver Gavel Award, American Bar Association * 2019 Community Service award, Asian American Coalition of Chicago * 2020 United States Artist Fellowship and Illinois Arts Council Fellowship

Selected discography

* ''Depressingly Happy'' (Innocent Eyes & Lenses, 1990) * ''Needless to Say'' (Sound Aspects, 1992) * ''Kioto'' (Asian Improv, 1994) * ''If It Wasn't for Paul'' (Southport, 1995) * ''Urban Reception'' (Southport, 1996) * ''Actual Music'' (TOE, 1996) * ''Live at Blue Rider Theatre'' (Innocent Eyes & Lenses, 1997) * ''Basser Live'' (Asian Improv, 1999) * '' 2 x 4'' (Southport, 1999) with

Malachi Favors Maghostut Malachi Favors (August 22, 1927 – January 30, 2004) was an American jazz bassist who played with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Biography "Favors's tendency to dissemble about his age was a well-known source of mirth to fellow musicians of his g ...

* ''Trio'' (Melungeon 2006) * ''Boxes'' (Asian Improv, 2019)

As sideman

With Fred Anderson * '' Fred Chicago Chamber Music'' (Southport, 1997) * '' Fred Anderson Quartet Volume One'' (Asian Improv, 1999) * '' Fred Anderson Quartet Volume Two'' (Asian Improv, 2000) * '' On the Run, Live at the Velvet Lounge'' (Delmark, 2001) * '' Back at the Velvet Lounge'' (Delmark, 2003) * '' Live at the Velvet Lounge Volume III'' (Asian Improv, 2008) * '' Birthday Live 2000'' (Asian Improv, 2009) * ''Quintessential Birthday Trio Vol. II'' (Asian Improv, 2015) * ''Fred Anderson Quartet Live Vol. IV'' (Asian Improv, 2016) * ''Tsukasa Taiko: Gintenkai'' (Asian Improv, 2017) * ''Fred Anderson Legacy Band'' (Asian Improv, 2018) * ''Live Vol. V'' (FPE, 2019) With the Miyumi Project * ''The Miyumi Project'' (Southport, 2000) * ''Rooted: Origins of Now'' (Southport, 2002) * ''Re:Rooted'' (Southport, 2006) * ''MIYUMI Project: RAW and ALIVE'' (Asian Improv, 2016) * ''And Then They Came for Us/Un-American'' (Asian Improv, 2017) * ''Reduction Ensemble - MIYUMI Project'' (Asian Improv, 2018) * ''MIYUMI Project: "RAW and ALIVE II"'' (Asian Improv, 2018) * ''Best of the MIYUMI Project'' (FPE, 2020) With others * Jeff Chan, ''Jeff Chan's Horns of Plenty'' (Asian Improv, 2009) *

, ''Fire with Von Freeman'' (Southport, 1996) *

Jason Kao Hwang Jason Kao Hwang (born 1957) is a Chinese American violinist and composer. He is known for his unconventional and improvisational jazz violin technique as well as his chamber opera '' The Floating Box: A Story in Chinatown'' which premiered in 2001 ...

, ''Graphic Evidence'' (Asian Improv, 2006) *

Kenny Millions Kenneth Keshavan Maslak, who also performs under the stage name Kenny Millions (born February 26, 1950), is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, avant-garde performance artist, poet and restaurateur. Biography Kenneth Keshavan Maslak was bo ...

, ''Midnight in Chicago'' (Hum Ha, 2002) * Kenny Millions, ''Kenny Meets Tatsu'' (Hum Ha, 2002) * Nicole Mitchell, ''Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds'' (FPE, 2017) *

, '' First Look, Chicago Duos'' (Southport, 2005) *

, '' A Symphony of Cities'' (Southport, 2002) *

Francis Wong Francis Wong () is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, and ''erhu'' player. Wong is of Chinese descent; his father is from Shanghai and his mother is Cantonese. He specializes in the fusion of free jazz and Asian musics, and is a central memb ...

, ''Chicago Time Code'' (Asian Improv, 1995) *

, ''Early Abstractions'' (Estrada Poznanska, 2009) *

, ''Wojtck Trio'' (Asian Improv, 2013) *

, ''Miyoshi Sketches'' (Asian Improv, 2017) * Edward Wilkerson, ''that's what it WAZ'' (Asian Improv, 2017) * Rami Atassi, ''atashi wa rami'' (Asian Improv, 2020)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aoki, Tatsu 1957 births Living people Musicians from Tokyo 21st-century double-bassists American musicians of Japanese descent Art Institute of Chicago Japanese emigrants to the United States Japanese jazz double-bassists School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni