Sought after for her unique sound and rich lush tone, Drue Kataoka's flute playing captivates audiences across cultural borders, boundaries, and time zones. Sound landscapes textured in meaning emerge from the warmth of her golden notes. Drue's reservoir of sound and flawless technique draws on her unique background of East and West and her rigorous training in aural and visual forms. With that level of visual sensitivity in her musical arsenal, she paints imagery in her sound. She is equally influenced by the shakuhachi textures of Japan, the demanding structures of the Classical flute tradition, and the soulful sophistication of the Jazz tradition. Discipline at the core of her consciousness as a Sumi-e artist is inextricably linked with her flute-playing. A single ebony stroke and a single golden note become one.
Destined for the flute, driven by her passion, and drawn to the instrument as a little girl of three before her arms were even long enough to hold it, Drue realized her musical dream to master the classical and jazz traditions. After playing the Khatchatourian Concerto for Jean-Pierre Rampal, the 20th Century's greatest Flute player urged Drue to continue her studies at the Paris Conservatory. Upon first hearing her play Jazz, Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center said, "We have a virtuoso in here! That is one soulful sound."
Drue has been featured in performances as diverse as the fireworks-accompanied national anthem for Stanford's baseball Season Opener, to main stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, to the Opening ceremonies of Cuisines of the Sun in Kona, HI, to a performance of Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto at Stanford's Memorial Church as well as Live on CNN, WWL-TV, WGNO, and KGO. She's studied with Master Flutist Keith Underwood and Jazz Master Kent Jordan.
