Summer 2010

For me, being in the USA itself is a challenging and learning experience.
But going outside the USA carries my learning curve extra edgy.
This Summer 2010, thanks to SOMI, I went to
Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Bahrain and Holland.

Music is about your personal experience.
Experience is about who you meet, what you see, what you feel.
The trip I had this summer definitely made my life richer.
Hopefully my music I'll create will be deeper too.

(Photos)
1. SOMI at Amsterdam
2.with Dianne Reeves at Monterey Jazz Festival, CA
3.Amsterdam
4. Chillin' at Fasion Hotel in Amsterdam
5. at 2 Seas studio with prince H.H. Shelkh Abdulla bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Bahrain

Eastern Africa tour--JAfro Live

Wow, I haven't written anything since May.
Well, I'm doing fine.
I just came back from 2- week- SOMI's Eastern Africa tour.

This is my 3rd time Africa experience.
(SOMI took me Niger , Rwanda and Uganda before.)
This time, she took me Rwanda , Uganda and Kenya!.
Cool weather, dry air, Safari, bed netting, curry, fish, Tusker beer....

More or less , this Africa experience will help me conceptualizing my new project JAfro.
We've been rehearsing secretly but on September we got some opportunity
to perform in front of people.

Sep. 1 st @ Shrine 7pm
Sep. 22th @ Miles' Cafe 7:30pm

JAfro is
Toru Dodo-piano, Yasushi Nakamura-bass &
Keita Ogawa-perc.

Hope to see you there.

SOMI & HUGH MASEKELA Podcast

You can check out the live of
Somi & Hugh Masekela.

Click here!

SOMI-Voc.
David Gilmore-guitar
Bradley Jones-bass
Toru Dodo-piano
Steve Belvilus-drums
&
Hugh Masekela-Trumpet

May 11th , 2010
the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts in Brooklyn


photo by
Tony Turner

Save the date ! JAfro @ Miles' Cafe 、May 13th

JAfro is my new -born project,
This is our 2nd performance.
Please come and get to know what JAfro is.

Miles' Cafe is the newest club in NYC.
This place has maybe one of the best piano in town.
But they have no license for booze yet, so BYOD and BYOF please.

---

May 13th (Thurs)
JAfro @ Miles' Cafe
8pm-11pm (2 Sets)
Ticket $21

JAfro is
Toru Dodo-piano
Yasushi Nakamura-bass
Keita Ogawa---percussion

Miles' Cafe is at
212 E.52th 3 fl (between 2nd & 3rd street)
212-371-7657
http://www.milescafe.com/ny/index.html

Sunday Jam @ Cleopatra's Needle OVER!

My Sunday Jam Session at the Cleopatra's Needle that started since December 2001
finally ended on April 25th, 2010.

I'm proud of that I could continue this gig for such a long time.
And I'm very thankful about that so many musicians came down to play with me.


There's no such a thing that never ends.
This could be a start of something for me.
The down side is my monthly income will be
$50 (the gig payment)x 4(Sundays) short
from next month.

SOMI TV shooting session

SOMI's TV shooting session at Southpaw, Brooklyn.
(for Food network? not sure yet.)

This was my 3rd TV appearance this year.
The next step for me would be a movie appearance, right?

Check out also TVJapan, NY Music Love
April 17th (Sat) 11:17pm-12:17am.

JAfro debut!

I might have tried to play TORU DODO's music.

But I got to feel like I can't limit music.
Music is supposed to be for every human being.

Then I came up the word "JAfro".
I felt like this word would
give me more direction.

So I decided to start playing JAfro music.
People may want to ask "what is JAfro?"
I'd answer "what is Jazz?"


JAfro Live at Shrine , April 2 , 2010

Toro Doro -keys
Yasushi Nakamura-bass
Keita Ogawa -perc.

Aoril 2nd (Fri) JAFRO @ Shrine, 6pm-7pm, Free!

I don't know what JAFRO really is but
I will play some JAFRO music this Friday.
It's free admission.

April 2 (Fri)

Toru Dodo -JAFRO
@ Shrine

6pm-7pm

Toru Dodo -keys
Yasushi Nakamura-bass
Keita Ogawa-perc

Tadahiro Uesugi got the Annie Award!

I'm very happy to inform you that
Tadahiro Uesugi received this year's Annie Award
for his work of production design for the movie" Coraline".
Tadahiro has done my 2 CD's cover design.
Congratulations!!!

Happy New Year! (too late?)

It may be too late to say Happy New Year after a month and a couple days passed already.
But hey, Happy New Year!

On January 29th , I had a chance to be on TV.
( BRONXNET TV , Bronx Local TV station. "OPEN")
I played on keys and took a interview by Rhina Valentin.

Speaking in front of camera is something and
also speaking in my second language is something.
I don't remember what I spoke out of my nervousness.
It could be a disaster.
Luckily , it seems like the BRONXNET website would not post the archive where I was on.
So my appearance is kept in secret for people not living in the Bronx.