The banjo first arrived in Japan in 1854 with the historic visit by the U. S.
Navy’s Commodore Matthew C. Perry.  One hundred and  fifty years later,
Takeharu Kunimoto has brought the music of the banjo’s Japanese cousin--the shamisen
--to the United States in a form never before heard in this country. 

Defying all precedent, Mr. Kunimoto has--with outstanding success--pioneered
ways to adapt this traditional Japanese instrument to American bluegrass
music.  Both on his own and as a member of East Tennessee State University’s ETSU
Bluegrass Pride Band, he has amazed and delighted numerous audiences with his
virtuoso bluegrass performances and his winning showmanship.

Within a few months of his arrival in East Tennessee, Takeharu had won the
hearts, minds--and rapt attention--of thousands of dedicated followers of
American bluegrass.  His many tour de force successes include the International
Bluegrass Music Association’s annual IBMA Awards Show in Louisville, Kentucky, the
A. P. Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, the Down Home in Johnson City,
the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tennessee,  and NATO
Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

As his host of devoted bluegrass fans will readily testify, Kunimoto’s music
is not an exploratory attempt to see whether bluegrass could be played on the
shamisen.  Deeply moved by a meeting with Bill Monroe in Japan at the age of
fourteen, Takeharu, has emerged with an impressive fully developed bluegrass
style.   His playing is notable for its technical excellence, sensitivity,
taste, and imaginative improvisation.  He has also composed new bluegrass numbers
such as “I Am Here” and "Appalachian Shamisen."  These owe much to the
bluegrass tradition, but are, at the same time, distinctive and quite personal.

During his year as a Visiting Bluegrass Scholar at ETSU--sponsored by the
government of Japan--Takeharu has been a source of wonder and delight to all who
have come to know him.  He has a great sense of humor, works exceptionally
hard, and is full of surprises.

In Japan, Takeharu Kunimoto is a highly respected artist in the traditional
art form called roukyoku, which combines acting, singing, and storytelling.  In
America he utterly charms bluegrass audiences--including the hardest of the
hardcore--by unexpectedly slipping out of bluegrass mode and into his native
language and performance style.  Soon startled listeners invariably find
themselves laughing, clapping, and even entering into a spontaneous call-and-response
to Takeharu’s energetic vocals.

Those who love bluegrass sometimes wonder whether their treasured music can
continue to innovate and still be true to the artistic sensibilities of such
revered musical revolutionaries as Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and Doc Watson. 
Takeharu’s artistic vision provides an inspiring example of how tradition and
courageous exploration into uncharted territory can still combine to produce
fresh and exhilarating music.

Takeharu Kunimoto also confirms the marvelous ease with which bluegrass--like
many kinds of music--can soar across cultural and national boundaries.  When
communication in other realms of human endeavor achieves similar success, the
world will be a vastly better and happier place.
Jack Tottle, Founder of
ETSU Bluegrass, Old Time and
Country Music Program
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, Tennessee, USA

"I've been a huge fan since that mesmerizing debut disc from a couple of years
back. Takaharu's shamisen playing just tears me up everytime I hear it--it
adds such an interesting flavor to the proceedings. The band is tight--the
vocals are especially stellar--and the group offers something special"
Dave Higgs Nashville Public Radio

 

After my first listen to Appalachian Shamisen, I had to hear the whole CD again! Great fun!
Larry Mullen Bluegrass Now

 

TAKEHARU KUNIMOTO Appalachian Shamisen Now And Then 2005

The "music purists" usually will not hesitate to say that there are only six "true" bluegrass instruments--banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, (acoustic) bass and Dobro. And some will grumble about the Dobro. Over the years there have been occasional attempts to introduce, or at least take a stab at trying new instruments in a bluegrass context--a cello here, a drum set there, mostly with less than satisfying results, though there have been some notable exceptions (listen to Irish harpist Maire Ni Chathasaigh roar through a breakdown on the Celtic harp sometime). Part of the problem is that the tendency seems to be to try and adapt the music to the instrument, when it should really be the other way around.

Takeharu Kunimoto not only "gets" this, he's got a leg up on it, since the shamisen he so masterfully plays is a Japanese cousin of the banjo. More than that, having met Bill Monroe during his (Takeharu's) teenage years and becoming infatuated with bluegrass, he plays a bluegrass style and is a bluegrass musician. His instrument just sounds a little different. Actually, though he gets a real Scruggs groove going at points, there are times when it almost sounds like he's playing Monroe-style mandolin licks. Whatever the mode, it's a lot of fun.

As a visiting scholar at the renowned four-year degree program in bluegrass, country and old-time music at East Tennessee State University, Kunimoto is backed here by Last Frontier, three students from the program (Daniel Boner, guitar; Aaron Jackson, mandolin; J. P. Mathes II, banjo), along with bassist Ken Thomas. Instrumentally and vocally, it's a tight, driving sound, especially on cuts like "Tiger Creek" and Kunimoto's romp through the Scruggs oeuvre on "Earl's Medley."

COPYRIGHT 2006 Sing Out Corporation

Sign Out Magazine Winter 2006

 

"a highly-charged production"

"Anyone searching for mainstream bluegrass with a unique twist should find "Sushi & Gravy" a project worth exploring."
Bluegrass Unlimited

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