Johnny Mori
Encyclopedia
Johnny Mori is a third-generation (Sansei
) Japanese American
musician and arts educator/administrator from Los Angeles. He was one of the seminal members of the taiko
group Kinnara Taiko and the original taiko drummer for the Grammy nominated jazz-fusion band Hiroshima (band)
.
. He grew up in a primarily Japanese American community in southwest Los Angeles
and attended Los Angeles High School
. He currently works as the General Manager of the Aratani/Japan America Theatre at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) in Los Angeles, California.
s in Los Angeles and around Southern California. It wasn't until much later that Mori would begin playing taiko. In 1969, Reverend Masao "Mas" Kodani founded Kinnara Taiko, the second kumi-daiko group to be founded in North America. Kodani, Mori and the other seminal members of Kinnara Taiko are credited with pioneering the technique of reusing old barrels to make taiko. This innovation is one of the primary reasons for the spread of taiko in North America. Mori was also featured in the documentary Big Drum Taiko in the United States for his major contributions to North American taiko.
A few years later, in 1973, Mori partnered up with the members of the band Hiroshima for a jam session. It was this jam session that led to the band inviting him as their taiko player. Hiroshima became a hit with their fusion of Japanese music and other world music into their songs. Hiroshima's debut album, self-titled Hiroshima was released five years later in 1979. The band was featured in a documentary in 1976 entitled Crusin' J-Town and also wrote an original song titled "The Moon is a Window to Heaven" for the 1989 film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
.
After retiring from the band in 2004, Mori is still heavily involved in the taiko community. He now works as the General Manager of the Aratani/Japan America Theatre at the JACCC in Los Angeles, California.
Sansei
Sansei is a Japanese language term used in countries in South America, North America and Australia to specify the children of children born to Japanese people in the new country. The Nisei are considered the second generation, grandchildren of the Japanese-born immigrants are called Sansei and...
) Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
musician and arts educator/administrator from Los Angeles. He was one of the seminal members of the taiko
Taiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
group Kinnara Taiko and the original taiko drummer for the Grammy nominated jazz-fusion band Hiroshima (band)
Hiroshima (band)
Hiroshima is an American jazz fusion/smooth jazz band formed in 1974 by Sansei Japanese American Dan Kuramoto , Peter Hata , June Kuramoto , Johnny Mori , Dave Iwataki and Danny Yamamoto...
.
Personal life
Mori was born in 1949 in Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. He grew up in a primarily Japanese American community in southwest Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and attended Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are blue and white and the teams are called the Romans....
. He currently works as the General Manager of the Aratani/Japan America Theatre at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) in Los Angeles, California.
Taiko
Mori was surrounded by taiko from his childhood days, often seeing taiko being performed at Bon FestivalBon Festival
or just is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist-Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed...
s in Los Angeles and around Southern California. It wasn't until much later that Mori would begin playing taiko. In 1969, Reverend Masao "Mas" Kodani founded Kinnara Taiko, the second kumi-daiko group to be founded in North America. Kodani, Mori and the other seminal members of Kinnara Taiko are credited with pioneering the technique of reusing old barrels to make taiko. This innovation is one of the primary reasons for the spread of taiko in North America. Mori was also featured in the documentary Big Drum Taiko in the United States for his major contributions to North American taiko.
A few years later, in 1973, Mori partnered up with the members of the band Hiroshima for a jam session. It was this jam session that led to the band inviting him as their taiko player. Hiroshima became a hit with their fusion of Japanese music and other world music into their songs. Hiroshima's debut album, self-titled Hiroshima was released five years later in 1979. The band was featured in a documentary in 1976 entitled Crusin' J-Town and also wrote an original song titled "The Moon is a Window to Heaven" for the 1989 film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fifth feature in the franchise and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series...
.
After retiring from the band in 2004, Mori is still heavily involved in the taiko community. He now works as the General Manager of the Aratani/Japan America Theatre at the JACCC in Los Angeles, California.
Works
- Hiroshima (Arista/BMG) 1979
- Odori (Razor & Tie/BMG) 1980
- Third Generation (Epic/CBS) 1983
- Another Place (Epic/CBS) 1985
- Go (Epic/CBS) 1987
- East (Epic/CBS) 1989
- Providence (Epic/SME) 1992
- L.A. (Qwest/Reprise/Warner Bros.) 1994
- Urban World Music (Qwest/Warner Bros.) 1996
- Between Black and White (Windham Hill/BMG) 1999
- The Bridge (Heads Up) 2003
External links
- Hiroshima http://www.hiroshimamusic.com
- Japanese American Cultural & Community Center http://www.jaccc.org/
- Big Drum Taiko in the United States http://www.janm.org/exhibits/bigdrum/