Johnny Mori is a third-generation (

Sansei is a Japanese and North American English term used in parts of the world such as South America and North America to specify the children of children born to ethnic Japanese in a new country of residence. The '' nisei'' are considered the second ...

) Japanese American musician and arts educator/administrator from Los Angeles. He was one of the seminal members of the

taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming ...

group Kinnara Taiko and the original taiko drummer for the Grammy nominated jazz-fusion band Hiroshima.

Personal life

Mori was born in 1949 in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. He grew up in a primarily Japanese American community in southwest

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and attended

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 royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans. Los Angeles High School is a pub ...

. He formerly worked as the general manager of the Aratani/ Japan America Theatre at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) in Los Angeles.

Taiko

Mori was surrounded by taiko from his childhood days, often seeing taiko being performed at

Obon Festival or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and 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 retu ...

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 are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming ...

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 ''Cruisin'' is the second leader album by Japanese pianist Junko Onishi, released on July 21, 1993 in Japan. It was released on April 5, 1994 by Blue Note Records. Track listing Personnel * Junko Onishi - Piano * Rodney Whitaker - Bass *Bil ...

'' 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.

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

References

External links

* Hiroshim

* Japanese American Cultural & Community Cente

* Big Drum Taiko in the United State

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mori, Johnny American musicians of Japanese descent Living people 1949 births Taiko players