MONTEBELLO — Los Angeles-based taiko and shakuhachi composer-performer Shih-wei Wu presents “Musical Encounters,” a fusion concert that features a cross-cultural line-up of jazz, Western classical, Balkan and Japanese musicians.
“Musical Encounters” is a fundraising event to send Wu to a week-long workshop with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the members of the Grammy Award-winning Silk Road Ensemble at the Global Musician’s Workshop.
The concert will take place on Saturday, April 11, at 8 p.m. at Sozenji Buddhist Temple, 3020 W. Beverly Blvd. in Montebello.
The audience will embark on a musical journey of both Eastern and Western traditions injected with a contemporary sensibility. Wu teams up with established and up-and coming young musicians from an array of musical backgrounds to serve up original tunes for jazz piano and shakuhachi, traditional Japanese minyo folk works on shamisen, taiko and shakuhachi, improvisations on Balkan-style sax and taiko, a world premiere of a duet work entitled “Moving Earth” for bassoon and shakuhachi, and the booming sounds of kumi-daiko drumming.
The concert will feature Molly Jones on Balkan folk-style saxophone, Danny Andress Sanchez on jazz piano, Mike Penny on shamisen, Rev. Tom Kurai on taiko, Dan Abrams on bassoon, members of UC Irvine Jodaiko, and Wu on shakuhachi and taiko.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. For tickets and information, call (626) 321-1997 or visit www.shihweiwu.com.