Biography
Tetsuhiro Daiku, a sanshin three-stringed lute player and vocalist, fuses the Yaeyama Shima Uta island songs of the Okinawan Islands with influences from many other sources. His 1993 debut album, Yunta and Jiraba, brought in Japanese jazz saxophonist Kazutoki Umezu and drummer Samm Bennett, and later releases have kept merging Okinawan and Japanese traditions with jazz improvisation. Rootsworld described Daiku's music as a "wonderful mix of attitude and creativity," while www.summit-okinawa.gr.jp claimed that he had "created a revolutionary sound." Nakagawa Takashi of Japanese rock group Soul Flower Union proclaimed Daiku "one of the best singers in the world." Born on Ishigaki Island southwest of the main Okinawan Island, Daiku relocated at age 19 to Naha, the port city on the primary island. He earned numerous prizes for his sanshin and fue Okinawan flute playing after entering folk music competitions. Following receipt of a teaching license, he founded the first of three sanshin schools. In addition to his solo work and recordings with his band the Tsundalers, Daiku has produced albums for Okinawan artists such as Konees, the group that features his wife Naoki together with three of his students.