JACCC Hosts 30th Anniversary Gala Celebration 3/30

Celebrating 30 memorable years as an anchor institution in the Little Tokyo community, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center will present its 30th Anniversary Gala on Tuesday, March 30th, marking a significant milestone for the JACCC in cultural arts programming and commitment to community. The Gala, presented at the Aratani/Japan America Theatre, will include a concert featuring four preeminent musical artists, and is a fundraiser supporting the entire lineup of JACCC 30th Anniversary Season programs and activities. The Gala concert begins at 7 pm and features taiko legend Kenny Endo; jazz piano virtuoso Keiko Matsui; five-time Grammy winner Daniel Ho; and Japanese music superstar Jero, who has reinvented and revitalized the Japanese folk ballads known as enka.

Following the concert, the celebration continues with a reception on the beautiful JACCC Plaza (designed by world-famous sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi) to which all guests are invited. Food, drink, and music will provide a lively and festive atmosphere to culminate the evening beneath the stars with JACCC friends, family, and fellow supporters.

Individual tickets for this fundraising event start at $150. For sponsorship information, please contact Jessie Kikuchi at (213) 628-2725, ext. 142 or jkikuchi@jaccc.org.

Artist Bios

KENNY ENDO
Kenny Endo is one of the leading personas in contemporary percussion and rhythm. 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, and then with the renowned San Francisco Taiko Dojo, the first kumidaiko group outside of Japan. In 1980, he embarked on a decade-long odyssey in his ancestral Japan, studying and performing with the masters of ancient 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 degree) in hogaku hayashi (classical drumming).

DANIEL HO
From his simple beginnings in Honolulu to his life amid the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, Daniel Ho has worked over the years as a musician, producer, singer/songwriter, arranger, composer, engineer, and record company owner. The most compelling of these roles has been as a five-time GRAMMY Award winning producer, featured slack key guitarist, and artist in the "Best Hawaiian Music Album" category. He began his professional career as the leader, keyboardist, composer, and producer for Kilauea, a contemporary jazz group he formed in 1990, and by 1997, Kilauea had released six chart-topping albums, two of which hit the Top 10 on Billboard's jazz charts. Daniel has received numerous Hawaiian music industry accolades including three Na Hoku Hanohano awards and ten Hawaiian Music Awards.

KEIKO MATSUI
Keiko Matsui is one of the top contemporary jazz pianists in the world. Dubbed the "first lady of contemporary jazz," Matsui was named Billboard's Jazz Artist of the Year in 1996, and she received the Essence Award from the American Society of Young Musicians in 1997. She has created over a dozen highly praised recordings, including Sapphire and Deep Blue, both of which reached number one on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart. With over 1.2 million units sold in the U.S. and sold-out appearances at concert halls across the world, her self-produced 2007 CD, Moyo, became one of Matsui's best selling releases and featured the single, Black River, which was on the radio charts for 36 weeks, reaching #3. Keiko Matsui is one of the most recognized artists in the genre.

JERO
Japanese music superstar Jerome CharLes White, Jr., aka Jero, is the first African American enka singer in the history of Japanese music. Jero has single-handedly reignited interest in the musical ballads that emerged in Japan's post-war era and has redefined the soul of Japan. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jero grew up listening to his Japanese grandmother's recordings of enka legends, including Misora Hibari. After appearing on a Japanese television contest, he landed a recording contract rising to the top of the charts with his hit single Umiyuki (Snowy Sea). Jero was named the best new performer of 2008, appearing on the Japanese television New Year's Eve songfest extravaganza "Kohaku." Dedicating his song to his ailing grandmother, audience members agreed that Jero best exemplified the show's theme of "creating bonds between people through the power of music."

Founded in 1971, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center is one of the largest ethnic arts and cultural centers of its kind in the United States. The mission of the JACCC is to present, perpetuate, transmit and promote Japanese and Japanese American arts and culture to diverse audiences, and to provide a center to enhance community programs. The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center is the preeminent presenter of Japanese and Japanese American, and Asian American performing and visual arts nationally. The JACCC also provides office space to a wide variety of nonprofit cultural, educational and community-based organizations in Los Angeles. For more information visit http://www.jaccc.org/.

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