Leonard Eto

Leonard Eto is one of best and most innovative contemporary taiko players whose vision andcreativeness deeply molded the way taiko is performed and viewed in the world today.
Leonard Eto’ distinctive hallmark is the fluidity and luminous, dancing quality of his play, theimmense joy that perspires in his music and the coexistence of power and effortlessness.
Leonard was born in New York in 1963, whilst his father, the koto player Kimio Eto, wasmaking a career in the States performing with such eminent artists as the Philadelphia
Orchestra under the conductorship of Leopold Stokowski and Harry Belafonte, among others.
The musical environment at home and his father’s pioneering path to expand the expressionof a traditional instrument into new realms deeply inspired Leonard’s own quest in music.
In 1984 Leonard joined the Japanese taiko drum group Kodo and completely invested himself
in researching, composing and playing taiko. He soon became Kodo’s principal player,organizer, music director and composer travelling to over 50 countries. Leonard's new waysof staging and performing taiko influenced not only Kodo and subsequent taiko groups, butalso well-known entertainment formations such as Stomp and Blue Man, as well as otherareas of the Western music scene. His compositions for Kodo became an integral part of thecontemporary taiko repertory. In 1992, Leonard left Kodo to pursue a solo career.
Leonard has always been interested in crossing borders and enjoys collaborating orimprovising with artists of any musical style. In 1994, he won high acclaim for hisperformance with such great artists as Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi, The Chieftains, INXS, Ray
Cooper, and Roger Taylor (Queen) at "The Great Music Experience" at Todaiji, the temple of
the Great Buddha, in Nara, Japan. Through his participation in the Megadrums Europe Tours('90, '93, '99) as well as a variety of festivals and recording sessions, he performed with suchworld-renowned artists as Zakir Hussain (tabla), Andreas Vollenweider (harp), Milton
Cardona (per.), Doudou Ndiaye Rose (per.), Max Roach (ds.), Michael Shrieve (Santana),Siouxsie Sioux, The Creatures and others. In 2004 Leonard joined Siouxsie Sioux’s U.S. tourand London concerts as special guest - a highly praised performance.
Leonard is an esteemed composer. His original works have been featured in Hollywood film
productions such as "JFK", "The Lion King", "The Hunted" and "The Thin Red Line". His
compositions have also been used in ballet representations by Nina Ananiashvili - with whom
he performed in 1998 - and Patrick Dupond, as well as for the figure skating performances ofElvis Stojko. "Tsu-Ku-Tsu", a work specially commissioned by Pilobolus, the renowned
American modern dance company, premiered in Boston in May 2000. It opened to criticalacclaim and enthusiastic audiences in New York at the Joyce Theater in June 2000, where it
enjoyed a three week run. A.J. Hewat of the New York Times raves, "He's got rhythm,They've got moves: It's a fit".
Ever since leaving Kodo, Leonard has been producing and touring his own projects. His quest
gradually developed from his collaborative activities - where he was challenging his own
technical and expressive skills to gain the freedom and spontaneity to communicate with any
musical style - to working on blending taiko and dance, taiko and Western drums and, theuntil then unthinkable, combination of taiko and digital sounds.
His formation “Blendrums” where the taiko dialogues with the sounds and movements of tap
dancing opened up a completely new, unexpected, dynamic and an inspiring world of stage
performance where a fusion between dance and rhythm happens. It was highly praised at allvenues when touring Europe in 2009.
Leonard has also been touring with an all women ensemble of taiko players and tap dancers contesting the martial, male and power based image of taiko performance with the excellence,
fluidity and dancing play of the women.
2013 finds him combining these works into a bigger production called “Theater Blendrums”
aiming to give more space to the creation of a high quality stage work of dance and taiko. Astoryline is incorporated into his former live performances, bringing taiko, contemporarydance, tap dance, Western drums, guitar and digital sounds together.
Official Web Site: leoeto.com
Official Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Leonard.Eto35
MySpace: www.myspace.com/leonardeto
Twitter: twitter.com/leonard_eto
Email: leo@leoeto.com