Senri Kawaguchi

Senri Kawaguchi (川口 千里, Kawaguchi Senri) is a Japanese jazz and fusion drummer. In Japan she is sometimes known as tekazuhime (手数姫), ("Princess of Many Strokes").[1] She has the image of a gecko on the front of her 20-inch bass drum, and on her Zildjian drumsticks.[2] She has won many awards for her drumming.[3]

Senri Kawaguchi
Birth name川口 千里 (Kawaguchi Senri)
Also known as手数姫 (Tekazuhime)
Born (1997-01-08) 8 January 1997
Nagoya, Japan
GenresFusion, Jazz-Rock, Jazz, Rock
InstrumentsDrums
Years active2009–present
LabelsMost Company, VEGA Music Entertainment, King Records (Japan)
Associated actsSenri's Super Session, Kiyo*Sen, Triangle, Kozo Sugunama, Fragile, Tetsuo Sakurai
Websitewww.senridrums.com

Early life

Kawaguchi was born in a suburb of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture on 8 January 1997; and when she was still very young, she moved with her family to Yokkaichi in neighbouring Mie Prefecture.[4][5]

She was introduced to drumming at the age of five when her father, whom she described in an interview as a mecha-otaku (メカオタク),[6] brought home an electronic drum kit so that he could explore its inner workings. Eventually, he gave it to her to play with, and at the age of six, she began taking drum lessons locally. When she was eight years old her teacher recommended that, having shown sufficient interest and talent, she start taking lessons from the renowned Japanese drummer and drum instructor Kozo Sugunama.[7]

Under Sugunama's tutelage Kawaguchi's skills developed, and soon she was accompanying professional musicians. In 2009, she made her first DVD, Horoscope[8] with Sugunama and members of the Japanese fusion band Fragile.[9] Later that year, after starting junior high school, she began making appearances at a number of small venues, as Senri's Super Session with Akira Tanemura on guitar, Teruyuki Iwawaki on bass and Mayumi Yoshida on keyboard, and with whom she still performs;[10] and, between 2011 and 2014, as Senri's BeeHive Session at the BeeHive in Osaka—playing with a number of top Japanese rock and fusion jazz musicians, including Kyoji Yamamoto, Minoru Mukaiya, and Tetsuo Sakurai.[11][12] Videos from many of these performances, were posted to a YouTube account set up in her name, along with videos in which she performed to the accompaniment of music from the anime K-On, bringing her to a much wider audience.[7]

In 2010, at the age of 13, she became one of the youngest drummers, and only the second Japanese drummer after Akira Jimbo to be added to the Drummerworld list of top 500 drummers.[8][4]

Career

In 2011, as well as continuing session work, she made her first overseas trip as a drummer when Yamaha Drums invited her to showcase some of their new drum kits at the 2011 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.[13] Later in the year, she travelled with Yamaha to China, to participate in the 2011 Tianjin Jiutai International Drum Festival.

In 2012, she made her first national television appearance when, along with the members of Senri’s Super Session, she accompanied guitarist Kyoji Yamamoto at that year's Tokyo Crossover Night International Jazz Festival, which was broadcast by Fuji Television on their satellite channel.[14]

On her 16th birthday in January 2013, she released her first solo CD A la Mode.[15] In it she was accompanied by a number of Japanese musicians, including some that she had performed with in her BeeHive Sessions.[16] Later that year, she travelled to the Hua Hin Jazz Festival, where she performed with Jun Abe, Shingo Tanaka, the bassist of fusion jazz band T-Square, and Kay-Ta Matsuno.[17] Towards the end of the year, she began a collaboration with Kiyomi Otaka the keyboard player from Casiopea 3rd, forming the fusion duo Kiyo*Sen.[18] They released their first CD Chocolate Booster in January 2014. The release of this CD was followed up with a short tour later in the year.

At the beginning of 2014, she went to Los Angeles to record her second CD, Buena Vista. There, she met French smooth jazz and new-age music multi-instrumentalist Philippe Saisse,[19] with whom she continues to work.[20] She was also invited to be one of the international judges for the 2014 Hit Like a Girl drum competition, and has been a regular judge since then.[21][22][23] Later in the year, she became involved in idol group E-Girls' tour of Japan, joining their support group as the drummer, giving her her first experience of performing at larger venues, including Tokyo's Budokan.[24][7] Finally, in September, she made her first appearance at the Tokyo Jazz Festival.[25]

In April 2015, after graduating from senior high school, she moved to Tokyo to study social science at Waseda University.[6] While studying at university she continued her session and studio work.[26][27] In June that year, Kiyo*Sen released their second CD Duology and followed it up with a short tour publicising the release.[28] In August, she travelled to the 2015 Rock au château festival held in the grounds of the château de Villersexel in France.[29] In September, she performed at the Super Mario 30th Anniversary Concert in Tokyo.[30] She also became more in demand to work with other artists, either in concert, or as a session artist on albums, notably being invited to perform with Guthrie Govan on the Japanese leg of his Erotic Cakes tour at the end of 2015.[31][32] She would work again with Govan, a year later, at the end of 2016.[33]

In 2016, she released 3 CDs: KKK Core, a collaboration between Kawaguchi, Kozo Sugunama and Kaori Hirohara that they had worked on since the previous year; Trick or Treat, her third CD as part of Kiyo*Sen, and Cider Hard and Sweet, a collaboration with Philippe Saisse and the bassist Armand Sabal-Lecco.

Throughout 2017, she participated in events to promote Yamaha Drum's 50th anniversary—culminating in a concert on stage with Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, and Akira Jimbo on 2 September.[34] Artists that she worked with in 2017 included Bootsy Collins on his CD World Wide Funk, which was released in October 2017[35][36] and Jan Erling Holberg, with whom she worked on the single Aim to Please.[37] In September, 2017 she performed with Saisse and Sabal-Lecco for a televised performance at the 2017 Tokyo Jazz Festival[38] at NHK Hall, after which they performed at various venues, including Motion Blue in Tokyo,[39] which was recorded and released as a DVD and Blu-ray, and for which they won the Nissan Jazz Japan Award 2017 for Best Live Performance.[3] In October 2017, she travelled to Bengaluru where she participated in the 2017 October Octaves with Indian fusion violinist Abhijith PS Nair.[40][4]

In 2019, she graduated from Waseda University.[41]

Discography

Solo recordings

Albums

  • A La Mode - Most Company, VEGA Music Entertainment – MOCA-1844. Released 8 January 2013.
  • Buena Vista - Most Company, VEGA Music Entertainment – MOCA-1846. Released 4 June 2014.
  • Cider Hard & Sweet - King Record Co. Ltd – KICJ-758. Released 21 Dec 2016. It is regarded as her major label debut.[5]
  • Dynamogenic - King Record Co. Ltd – KICJ-842. Released 23 Dec 2020.

DVD and Blu-ray

  • Horoscope - Jewel Sound – JSSK-9. Released 6 February 2009
  • Senri Kawaguchi LIVE Tour 2014 "Buena Vista" - Most Company, VEGA Music Entertainment – MODA-2601. Released 4 April 2015.
  • Senri Kawaguchi TRIANGLE Live in Yokohama 2017 - King Record Co. Ltd – KIXM-305. Released 27 December 2017.

Recordings as part of Kiyo*Sen

Albums

  • Chocolate Booster - VEGA Music Entertainment – VGDBRZ-0053. Released 18 January 2014.
  • Duology - VEGA Music Entertainment – VGDBRZ-0060. Released 24 June 2015.
  • Trick or Treat - VEGA Music Entertainment – VGDBRZ-0065. Released 2 September 2016.
  • Organiser - Elec Records – ELFA-1816. Released 4 July 2018.
  • Drumatica - airgroove LLC & Elec Records – YZAG-1105. Released 6 November 2019.

DVD and Blu-ray

  • ChocoーBoo Live! - VEGA Music Entertainment – VGVJFZ-0005. Released 26 April 2014.
  • Another Live World - Alfanote - AND075. Released 4 July 2018.[42]

Other recordings

Albums

  • KKK-Core - VEGA Music Entertainment – VGDBRZ-0064. Released 28 January 2016.

Recordings about Senri Kawaguchi

DVD and Blu-ray

  • Senri Kawaguchi from 18 to 20 (川口千里 密着age18-20〜千里の道も一歩から メジャーの先へ〜) - Alfanote – AND073. Released 9 September 2017[43]

Note: All release dates, labels and catalogue numbers are for the original Japanese release.

References
  1. "スーパー"女子大生"ドラマー 川口千里ついにメジャーデビュー！". HMV & BOOKS (in Japanese). Lawson HMV Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  2. "リズムセクション・セミナー　ドラマーは川口千里。". Yamaha Art "Backstage" (in Japanese). Yamaha Corporation. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  3. "JAZZ JAPAN AWARD 2017(Vol.90????)". Jazz Japan (in Japanese). JAZZ JAPAN Inc. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  4. Govind, Rajani (23 October 2017). "Just beat it". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  5. "Senri Kawaguchi". Zildjian. The Avedis Zildjian Company Inc. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  6. "インタビュー・会いたい人　早稲田大２年　川口千里さん". Mainichi News (in Japanese). 31 March 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  7. Hadfield, James (31 August 2017). "Drum prodigy Senri Kawaguchi doesn't put limits on her music". The Japan Times. The Japan Times Ltd. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  8. "Senri Kawaguchi". Drummerworld. Drummerworld.com and Bernhard Castiglioni. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  9. "Senri Kawaguchi". Evans Drumheads. D'Addario & Co. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  10. "山本恭司　弾き語り弾きまくりギター三昧バースデイ・スペシャル　<山本恭司 with Senri's Super Session>". Blue Mood Livehouse Restaurant (in Japanese). Blue Mood. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  11. "川口千里 BeeHive セッション (Senri Kawaguchi BeeHive Session)". Zen-A (in Japanese). Zen-A Corporation. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  12. "川口千里　"Senri's Super Session"撮影＆リハーサル". Holy House Studio + Cafe (in Japanese). Holy House. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  13. "Senri Kawaguchi – Master Drummer at 14". Five Star Drum Shops. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  14. "＜MUSIC:S＞『LIVE IN TOKYO CROSSOVER NIGHT』". BSフジ (in Japanese). BS Fuji Inc. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  15. "【CD】 A LA MODE". Tower Records Online (in Japanese). Tower Records. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  16. "Senri Kawaguchi – A La Mode". Discogs. Discogs. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  17. "Hua Hin Jazz Festival". Bangkok Post. Bangkok Post Group. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  18. "カシオペア大高清美＆18才ドラマー川口千里＝KIYO*SENのセカンド・アルバム". Tower Records Online (in Japanese). Tower Records. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  19. "Senri Kawaguchi – Buena Vista". Discogs. Discogs. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  20. "Senri Kawaguchi". Drums and Percussion Paderborn. Drums and Percussion Paderborn e.V. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  21. "The Top Finalists For Hit Like A Girl 2014 Has Come To A Close". Tom Tom Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  22. "The Hit Like A Girl Contest Announces Complete List Of Judges For 2017 Drumming Contest". Hit Like a Girl. Hit LIke a Girl. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  23. "Judges". Hit Like A Girl. 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  24. "Musician Profile 川口千里". Ongakushitsu DX (in Japanese). Ongakushitsu DX. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  25. "Artists". The 13th TOKYO JAZZ Festival. The 13th TOKYO JAZZ. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  26. "村田隆行＆愉快な仲間たち". Blues Alley Japan (in Japanese). Blues Alley Japan. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  27. "NORI SHIOTA & RIYOKO TAKAGI & SENRI KAWAGUCHI". Motion Blue, Yokohama (in Japanese). Blue Note, Japan. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  28. "DUOLOGY". Tower Records Online (in Japanese). Tower Records. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  29. "Edition 2015". Rock au chateau. Rock au chateau. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  30. Parish, Jeremy (28 September 2015). "A Report From the Super Mario 30th Anniversary Concert in Tokyo". US Gamer. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  31. "Guthrie Govan, Senri Kawaguchi: Japan tour dates - fusion powerhouse sure to set Tokyo alight!". Truth in Shredding. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  32. McNamara, Jason (16 November 2015). "Guthrie Govan 2015 2016 Japan Tour w/ Senri Kawaguchi, Akira Ishiguro, Toshimi Nagai". YouTube. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  33. "テクニカルなギタープレイで人気の英国出身ギタリスト 凄腕メンバーを率いて繰り広げる白熱のセッション！". Cotton Club (in Japanese). Cotton Club Japan, Inc. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  34. ""Yamaha Drums 50th Anniversary Drum Session＠原宿クエストホール"". DIGIMART MAGAZINE (in Japanese). Rittor Music Inc. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  35. "Bootsy Collins ~ World Wide Funk". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  36. "川口千里". King Records (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  37. Rønningen, Bjørn L. "Nå vil Jan bli Big in Japan". Hitra Frøya (in Norwegian). Hitra Frøya. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  38. "JAZZ SHOWER". The 16th TOKYO JAZZ Festival. The 16th TOKYO JAZZ. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  39. "川口千里 TRIANGLE featuring Philippe Saisse & Armand Sabal-Lecco". Motion Blue (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  40. "October Octaves - About". Yahavi.com. Collective Artists Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  41. "高校生が挑む！スーパーウインドオーケストラ". Shin-etsu Broadcasting (in Japanese). Shin-etsu Hōsō Kabushiki-gaisha. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  42. "KIYO*SEN ANOTHER LIVE WORLD". Alfanote. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  43. "川口千里 密着age18-20〜千里の道も一歩から メジャーの先へ〜". Alfanote (in Japanese). Retrieved 26 March 2018.
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