Kenny Endo

Kenny Endo is at the vanguard of the taiko genre, continually paving new paths for this Japanese style of drumming. A performer, composer, and teacher of taiko with numerous awards and accolades, Kenny Endo is a consummate artist, blending Japanese taiko with rhythms influenced from around the world into original melodies and improvisation.

Originally trained as a jazz musician in the Asian American cultural renaissance of 1970s California, Endo began his taiko career first with L.A.’s groundbreaking Kinnara Taiko, then with the renowned San Francisco Taiko Dojo, the first kumi daiko (ensemble drumming) group outside of Japan. In 1980, he embarked on a decade-long odyssey in his ancestral Japan, studying and performing with the masters of classical drumming, traditional Tokyo festival music, and ensemble drumming. Endo has the honor of being the first non-Japanese national to have received a natori (stage name and masters license) in hogaku hayashi (classical drumming). In the hogaku world, Endo is known as Mochizuki Tajiro.

In the greater musical world, “Kenny Endo” has become synonymous with “taiko.” He is arguably one of the most versatile musicians in the genre, crossing easily between the classical Japanese style and his own neo-traditional, globally-inspired variety. Among his many distinctions are an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, an artist residency at the Lincoln Center Institute in New York, his own “Kenny Endo Day” proclaimed by the Mayor of Honolulu, and certificates of honor from the Hawaii State House of Representatives, State Senate, and the Honolulu City Council.

Endo has performed to critical acclaim with Tsugaru shamisen artist Hiromitsu Agatsuma in New York and Honolulu, and served as an ambassador of Japanese culture and the arts via Japan Foundation sponsored goodwill concerts and workshops in Costa Rica, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Belize, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. He also collaborated with professional Kabuki musician Saburo Mochizuki and Tokyo taiko soloist Yuu Ishizuka in Honolulu’s “Classical and Contemporary Taiko Drumming” concert. Endo was a featured artist in Japan’s “Nihon no Taiko” concert in Tokyo, the first time foreigners ever headlined the prestigious concert. Comfortable collaborating with artists of all genre, Endo continues to tread new ground for this ancient instrument, inspiring all with his creativity, technique, and infectious groove.