Kodo

Albert Seip Concert Few music groups generate the kind of feverish excitement and visceral power as does Kodo. Formed on Japan’s Sado Island as a collective of musicians devoted to the physical rigor of taiko drumming, Kodo exploded onto the world stage at the Berlin Festival in 1981. Nurtured by Sado Island’s rich performing arts traditions, they supplement their drumming traditions with other instruments—shamisen, koto, and shakuhachi—and explore dance, song, and stagecraft along with the taiko’s boundless depth and range. Often referred to as “samurai percussionists,” Kodo transforms the concert experience into an unrivaled kinetic thrill ride, as this world-renowned troupe strives to preserve Japanese traditional drumming as well as reinterpret it and present it in new and seemingly limitless ways. The New York Times wrote, “Kodo reminds its audience that, above all, its music is a matter of flesh and blood, wood and stretched skin.” The Chicago Tribune stated, “Superlatives don’t really exist to convey the primal power and bravura beauty of Kodo.” And the Independent (U.K.) says, “It’s a balletic ritual, with the men stripped to the waist and poised to strike, then assaulting the big drums with battle cries as their sticks make circles over their heads.” Tickets for Kodo available to Williams Center subscribers only until September 28.