Endo was raised in Los Angeles with his brother and three sisters, and while he was exposed to some Japanese culture as a child, he grew up as an American.

[2] Endo began college at the University of California, Santa Cruz; he would eventually major in Political Science and minor in Ethnomusicology at UCLA.

In 1973, while still in college, he had the opportunity to do a six-month field study on a Native American reservation in Arizona, which had served as Poston War Relocation Center, the largest Japanese-American internment camp during WWII.

Endo also began to do freelance work and duets in 1983, and by 1987 he had gone solo, continuing his studies and composing his own taiko music.

After spending ten years in Japan, Endo applied for and was granted a scholarship through the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii (UH).

In 1994, Kenny and Chizuko moved the classes off campus and eventually to the chapel on the site of Kapiolani Community College.

The Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble was started around 1991, and today has 3 groups: one based in Japan, one in Hawaii, and one on the mainland US.

The Contemporary Ensemble “performs original works combining taiko with melodic and other instruments such as koto,” and serves as Endo’s experimental group.

Kenny Endo is most well known for has collaborations as a soloist with artists of every genre and is known around the world for his ability to seamlessly weave taiko into all forms.

Endo has recorded music for 3 films: Kayo Hatta’s “Picture Bride,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” and James Cameron’s “Avatar.” He was also featured in the PBS special, “The Spirit of Taiko” (2006).