Toshi Makihara

 

Toshi Makihara is one of the major voices in Philadelphia's New Music Free Improvisation scene today. He studied percussion with Sabu Toyozumi, a prominent percussionist  and improviser in Tokyo, and has worked with various new music ensembles including Orchestra of Our Time and World Sound. Makihara has also performed with many dance and theater companies in the United States, Japan and Europe. In the realm of experimental free improvised music, he has worked with variety of musicians including LaDonna Smith, Davey Williams, Tom Cora, Peter Brötzmann, Peter Koward, John Zorn, Eugene Chadbourne, Jon Rose, William Parker and Thurston Moore.

Makihara's original improvisational style combines his masterful percussion technic with vaudeville humor, a zen-influenced use of silence and gesture, and a dazzling range of discovered [invented] sound media [objects] ranging from bicycle wheels to feather dusters to coiled slinkies, all used in unexpectedly unique ways. In 1995 he founded IMP, a Philadelphia based New Music production, which produced biweekly concert series and monthly free improvisation workshops. His recordings include Grammy nominated "Another Shining Path" (1998 Drimala Records: with saxophonist Gary Hassay and bassist William Parker) and upcoming release of Thurston Moore-Wally Shoup-Makihara Trio and Jim Meneses-Toshi Makihara Duo as well as the recordings by Chicago based GLM TRIO.

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Raves

"A volcano of musical energy and ideas." -- Miriam Seidel, Seven Arts Magazine, Philadelphia

 

"a disciplined percussionist with a full sound on his kit,   a precise technician, and a group player with fast reflexes." -- Ed Hazell, The Boston Phoenix

 

"Impressive live and nuanced drumming." -- Anna Kisselgoff, New York Times

 

"Toshi Makihara is a performance unto himself. " -- Nancy Goldner, Philadelphia Inquirer

 

"Makihara is an attentive, responsive and meticulous percussionist.  His deft contributions fill out the sound picture  of these carefully constructed improvisations." -- Barry Withdrew, WIRE

 

"Percussionist Toshi Makihara is an amazingly subtle colorist... as Makihara's brushwork give the music considerable space  in addition to wide dynamic range." -- Jon Morgan, Signal to Noise

 

"Makihara has a sculptural approach:  he stacks layers of timbres and registers together  at once, but his attack is sparse enough to leave   plenty of sonic space. Makihara's sound is  both shimmering and propelling." -- Wyman Brantley, The Improvisor

 

"Makihara's improvisational wit which incorporated dance, visual puns, and a battered Wile E. Coyote doll provoked delight, while his powerful, precise drumming inspired awe." -- Lee Gardner, Baltimore City Paper