Tatsu Aoki and Jamie Kempers at Elastic Arts

Two of the members of Tatsu Aoki's The MIYUMI Project interplay with their respective sound palettes for this event brought to Elastic Arts by Asian Improv aRts Midwest.

$15 - Tickets Available at the Door

Tatsu Aoki, born in Tokyo, to a traditional Geisha performing family, he started performing at the age of four as a part of his family’s performance crew. By the early 1970s, Aoki was active in Tokyo’s underground arts movement as well as a member of an experimental ensemble that combined traditional music and new Western forms. In 1979 Aoki emigrated to Chicago and started his musical career as a traditional Japanese lute player and contemporary experimentalist playing double bass and shamisen. Aoki was named one of 2001’s "Chicagoans of the year" by Chicago Tribune for his music for his cross-cultural music and is most noted for being the long-standing bassist for Chicago’s late great legend Fred Anderson, generating eight albums with the saxophonist. Sustaining a tireless work-ethic, he has released over 90 recording projects in the last 35 years.  Notable releases include: Basser Live (1999) and Basser Live II (2005), recorded live at MCA Stage; The MIYUMI Project (2000), Symphony of Two Cities (2002), and Posture of Reality with Wu Man (2003).

An experimental cellist, Jaime Kempkers was a former student of classical cello repertoire who finds creative fulfillment in improvisation and compositional experimentation in collaborative and solo work.  He studied cello with Dr. Robert Ritsema and recorded with John Erskine at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He has been living in Chicago, playing improvised and/or experimental music since 2001. Currently, he is a member of Tatsu Aoki's Miyumi Project and is also a frequent collaborator on the experimental dance projects of Yoshinojo Fujima.

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