Who would have thought one could play the shamisen the way the Yoshida Brothers do? Born in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, Ryoichiro and Kenichi Yoshida both started learning the traditional instrument at a young age under Tsugaru-shamisen master The First Takashi Sasaki and have won numerous awards in recent years for combining traditional and contemporary music into dynamic new works with a rock & roll edge.
The talented Yoshida Brothers coax vivid sounds from their classical instruments and have reinvented shamisen music for a new generation by incorporating elements of jazz, American folk, pop, Latin music, blues, and more, into their musical tapestry. Sporting dyed brown hair, the stylish brothers have been a huge hit among young trend-setters in Japan and internationally.
The pair have performed at the Kohaku Uta Gassen and their albums Soulful, Frontier, Renaissance, and Yoshida Brothers I-III have all been best-sellers in Japan and the US. A highly successful example of pop-classical crossover. |
