Discovery- Japan
In this week’s Discovery series we head over to Japan! Japan is made up of a series of islands (6,852 of them) in the Pacific Ocean just East of the continent of Asia. Like many of our other Discovery locations, Japan has been home to some great jazz musicians born there as well as those who have made it their home. This wonderful country has embraced jazz in its various forms and is home to a number of world-famous clubs, educational institutions and jazz festivals.
As with our past locations, the goal is to introduce you to 3 new musicians each week from different parts of the world. My hope is you will find some new discoveries, support them by buying their albums and by attending their concerts if you are in their area (or they in yours). Another benefit is for you to hear new musicians and how they approach their instrument and jazz. You never know where you might find your next favorite line!
Japan has a number of cities that offer live jazz whether you are in a large or small city. When I think of Jazz in Japan I immediately think of the Tokyo Jazz Festival. This is one of the world’s foremost Jazz festivals that bring talent from all corners of the globe. Check out their website to see who performed this last year and you will see a list of world-class musicians gracing the stages. It is possible that there are some Jazz festivals in the world that do this, but the Tokyo Jazz Festival is the only one that I have read about that offers child care for concert attendees. As a father of young children-that might just be a deal breaker!
Like mentioned with other great countries; Japan has been the home to a number of jazz musicians known and unknown. Hopefully the musicians below are people you will start checking out (if you have not already).
Takuya Kuroda– trumpet
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q64ybo4eaVw&w=420&h=315]
Hiromi Uehara– piano
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JfKY0K_NQk&w=420&h=315]
Erena Terakubo– sax
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eo6jKeZ3L8&w=560&h=315]
These are just a few of literally hundreds of great jazz musicians you can find in and/or from Japan. If you have checked out these musicians above, be sure to check out their websites and albums to support them. I would also highly encourage you to look up other great Japanese musicians and see what this great country has to offer in terms of Jazz.
