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April 16, 2024
 

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Frank Spignese
For Frank Spignese's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 5, 2020
David Coverdale: A hard rock god sings the blues
Former Deep Purple and current Whitesnake vocalist David Coverdale says he won't be giving up on the music any time soon.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 6, 2020
Tortoise: The band that pushed back against Gen-X apathy
Quirky Chicago band Tortoise heads to Japan for a three-day six-show appearance in Tokyo, playing a classic album in full along with a 'greatest hits' set.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 5, 2019
Steve Gadd: Drummer still 'laying it down,' 50 years on
Ahead of his band's tour of Japan, Steve Gadd discusses a career drumming for the likes of James Brown, Eric Clapton and Steely Dan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2019
Charles Lloyd: 'Looking for the one note that can say it all'
Few musicians in any era, in any genre, have had such lengthy and varied creative journeys as saxophonist Charles Lloyd. The longevity of his 60-year career is honorable enough, but the unpredictability of his path and the ebb and flow of his musical ideas make him almost unequaled, in jazz. He's like the David Bowie of the genre — a chameleon, blending, bending and constantly reinventing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 1, 2016
WorldService Project set to shake up Tokyo Jazz Festival
The Tokyo Jazz Festival is a varied event, featuring artists of every age and from all corners of the globe. Yet, like most mainstream jazz festivals, the lineups can be somewhat middle of the road, inoffensively safe in a way that keeps more underground acts outside the castle walls.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 1, 2016
Tokyo Jazz Festival celebrates its 15th anniversary with an ensemble of top-notch musicians
Tokyo Jazz Festival is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and its lineup is a healthy mix of up-and-coming artists and giants of the genre.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 3, 2015
Jazz pioneer Bob James' Japan-inspired concerto to premiere at the Tokyo Jazz Festival
Smooth jazz pioneer and inadvertent godfather of hip-hop break-beats, Bob James is about to add another accolade to his list of accomplishments. At this weekend's 14th Tokyo Jazz Festival, the keyboardist will debut his first piano concerto.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 3, 2015
Tokyo Jazz Festival to provide a glimpse into Esperanza Spalding's alter ego
One of the few younger non-Japanese acts gracing the stage at this weekend's Tokyo Jazz Festival is singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding. Though appearing at the city's main jazz event, the multifaceted 30-year-old musician could just as easily be performing at Fuji Rock Festival or Summer Sonic. Truly hard to categorize, Spalding seamlessly mixes pop, neo-soul and bossa nova into her heady brew.
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
Feb 17, 2015
In praise of Michiyo Yagi: Keeping the koto contemporary
Koto player Michiyo Yagi is a national treasure like no other. Why she isn't the most famous musician in all of Japan blows my feeble mind.
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
Jan 22, 2015
Tokyo jazz landmark Pit Inn celebrates 50 years
Tokyo is a jazz lover's paradise — only New York can claim to have as many clubs and live houses to choose from. Though, the high-end clubs that pull in the big acts can cost a fortune, populated with patrons who are more interested in showing off their secretaries than actively listening to the music.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 22, 2015
Makoto Ozone set to step out with his other family
During his years in New York, pianist Makoto Ozone fronted a number of small combos and gigged with such heavyweights as Branford Marsalis, Gary Burton and Christian McBride. But the collaborators he has come back to time and time again are his Japan-based big band, No Name Horses.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 7, 2014
Vibraphonist Locke to hit all the right notes
The vibraphone is one of the more unique instruments to infiltrate jazz. A holy mash-up of the piano and the percussive, it's the duck-billed platypus of musical instrumentation. In terms of cool, it's unfairly lodged somewhere between the tuba and the clarinet. Its old-school practitioners now exude a breezy novelty quality, and the truly mentionable modern players can be counted on one and a half hands. One standout is New York mallet-man Joe Locke. Jazz fans in Japan can catch the vibraphonist on his current tour, featuring a pit-stop at Yokohama Jazz Promenade this weekend. On rave-ups, Locke frenziedly bangs the bars; on the ballads, he calmly coos with a restrained minimalism.
Japan’s young workers head abroad as huge wage gap persists
The departure hall at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Now with inflation at its strongest in decades, Japanese are starting to realize that years of static wages leave many of them budgeting each month before their next pay check.
EVs head for junkyard as mechanic shortage inflates repair costs
An AA patrol for electric vehicles in Birmingham, England. Fewer than 10% of the U.K.’s 236,000 auto mechanics are qualified to work directly on EV batteries or their cases, according to the Institute of the Motor Industry.
Japan strongly condemns Iranian attack on Israel as 'escalation'
Missiles are showcased in a parade marking Iran's National Army Day in Tehran on April 18, 2023.
Worries remain one year to go before Osaka Expo
Construction at Yumeshima island, the venue for the Osaka Expo
How ‘winged’ gyōza took flight from a Tokyo suburb
The creator of "hanetsuki gyōza" is Isao Yagi, and his restaurant, Nihao, can be found right on the border of Tokyo and Kawasaki in Ota Ward.
Akebono's human side eclipsed his incredible sumo achievements
The heights Akebono reached in sumo helped pave the way for future foreign-born yokozuna Asashoryu and Hakuho.
Ohtani’s dizzying three weeks end in exoneration by authorities
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani during a spring training game on March 12.
How ‘winged’ gyōza took flight from a Tokyo suburb
The creator of "hanetsuki gyōza" is Isao Yagi, and his restaurant, Nihao, can be found right on the border of Tokyo and Kawasaki in Ota Ward.
How Ippei Mizuhara allegedly wired millions from Shohei Ohtani’s account
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, in December at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California
Fear the impending heat? Escape to Kushiro, the land of no summer.
Summer averages in eastern Hokkaido float in the high teens and low 20s, not necessitating widespread air conditioning usage in homes and businesses.

Podcast

Two people try to take a selfie under the illuminated cherry blossoms in Kyoto’s Gion district last year.
Sakura stories revisited: Getting in the mood for hanami

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
By Lance Henderstein

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