KAORU WATANABE’S BLOODLINES INTERWOVEN
Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and former Kodo member Kaoru Watanabe has built a career at the intersection of tradition and experimentation. A master of Japanese flutes and taiko drums, Watanabe weaves the aesthetics of Japanese performing arts with jazz, improvisation, and contemporary forms, collaborating with icons such as André 3000, Yo-Yo Ma, Laurie Anderson, Jason Moran, and Silkroad Ensemble. His practice—shaped by rigorous training in Japan, years performing globally with Kodo, and a wide array of cross-cultural projects—embodies both virtuosity and openness.
In 2024, Watanabe launched Bloodlines Interwoven, a multi-year project that commissions new works rooted in heritage, immigration, and diaspora. Bringing together musicians, storytellers, and culinary artists, the residency explores family histories and personal narratives through collaborative creation. At Big Ears 2026, Bloodlines Interwoven unfolds across multiple performances, offering audiences a powerful meditation on ancestry and identity—and a vivid reminder of the deep connections that bind us all.
Bloodlines Interwoven is supported in part by Loghaven Artist Residency and the Aslan Foundation.
Bloodlines: Interwoven is made possible with generous support from the Mellon Foundation.
Kaoru Watanabe’s Bloodlines Interwoven
Kaoru Watanabe’s Bloodlines Interwoven (Concert I)
featuring Cyro Baptista, Fay Victor, gamin, Kweku Sumbry, Mafer Bandola, Marika Hughes, Séamus Egan, Shahzad Ismaily, Sunny Jain, and Yuniya Edi Kwon
0 Scheduled