WOMAD

Joji Hirota, Kenny Endo & John Kaizan Neptune

From Japan, United States

If WOMAD has a totem musical instrument, one whose ubiquity has shaped our identity over the years, it’s surely the drum. And the person that’s banged a drum at more WOMAD festivals than any other musician is most definitely Joji Hirota. After his WOMAD debut back in 1986, the acclaimed Japanese taiko drummer has travelled with us to all four corners of the earth, from Australia to South Africa, Estonia to Singapore. A tireless musical adventurer who’s collaborated with many similarly unblinkered folk (including Jah Wobble and Pete Lockett), his latest Rivermead appearance sees him lining up alongside fellow masterful taiko drummer Kenny Endo and John Kaizan Neptune, one of the planet’s most eminent performers of the shakuhachi, the Japanese bamboo flute. All too often, the limelight in world music circles seems to shine exclusively on Africa or Latin America. But when these three wonderful musicians head to the bandstand, the fragrant musical offerings of Japan are the ones to flood the senses.In A Few Words… Three-way Japanese traditionalism