biography
FALL 2004 Hip Hop CD about the Japanese American concentration camps called, "BARBED WIRE & HIP HOP", has it's debut release at the Japanese American National Museum. The CD was produced by Iwataki and funded by a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program.
SPRING / SUMMER 2003 found Iwataki writing and producing the scores for the opening and closing episodes of a 3-part mini-series entitled: "JAPAN: Memoirs of a Secret Empire". The show required Iwataki to create music that fused Japanese traditional instruments with western orchestral instruments. He was assigned the task of faithfully using the Japanese traditional instruments without insulting the Japanese, and at the same time appeal to the western listener who may not be familiar to the eastern sounds. It was an assignment Dave undertook with much enthusiasm, and the end product was greeted with much excitement by listeners on both sides of the Pacific Ocean! The mini-series airs on PBS.
DAVE HAS ALSO RELEASED a very moving and thought-provoking cd entitled, "HARSH CANVAS/ INFINITE SHADES OF GREY". The music is an eclectic mix of styles that include jazz, contemporary chamber music, and even a tango. The music on this cd was first heard in the score of two films produced by The Watase Media Arts Center at The Japanese American National Museum. The first film is called "HARSH CANVAS: THE ART & LIFE OF HENRY SUGIMOTO", and the second, "TOYO MIYATAKE: INFINITE SHADES OF GREY", was screened at the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, 2002.
AS AN ARRANGER/COMPOSER/KEYBOARDIST, As an arranger/composer/keyboardist, Dave has worked in many areas of music performance and production, from live concert performances with some of the top names in pop and jazz, to composing and arranging for record, radio, stage, television and film. Two years in a row Dave wrote the music for award-winning jingles for Smooth Jazz stations around the country, including KTWV-The WAVE in Los Angeles. He recently arranged a CD of Christmas called, "Smooth Jazz Christmas" featuring many first-call sideman and singers in the music industry.
ARTISTS such as Peabo Bryson, Barry Manilow, Kenny G, The Pointer Sisters, Hiroshima, Tom Scott, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Olivia Newton-John, Paul Anka, Jon Lucien and The Fifth Dimension have all called on Dave to add his magic to their music. He has written and recorded for Tom Scott, Willie Bobo, Paulinho da Costa and Luis Conte and as an early member of the contemporary jazz group Hiroshima.
