Despite a nasty snowstorm the morning of my departure, I made it to sunny Los Angeles in one piece. It was a great pleasure to collaborate with my good friends in On Ensemble and the other outstanding guest artists for this very special project, Kaoru Watanabe from New York city, Russel Baba and Jeanne Mercer from Mt. Shasta, and the sublime dancer Chieko Kojima, all the way from Sado Island, Japan. As well, lighting designer Kristie and our crack sound-team Yoko and Nana were total pros. Thanks for making us look and sound good! The Cerritos Center audience was especially warm and enthusiastic, and it was a rare treat to play in such a beautiful space with such professional staff. Read a review here of our show here, at the Cerritos Ink blog.

Finally, very big thanks to Shoji and Emi, Kris and Hiroka for the home-stay in LA, and Darren and Kishin Daiko for setting-up the chappa workshop which I taught while I was there. Looking forward to meeting you all again soon at Taiko Conference 2011.

Sadly, last week’s fun was tempered by the devastating earthquake and tsunami which happened in Japan. Best wishes for a safe and quick recovery to all my friends and colleagues in Japan.