Michael Pronko - The Japan Times

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Michael Pronko

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Michael Pronko

Michael Pronko writes essays for ST Shukan. He also writes for his own website Jazz in Japan, as well as for Newsweek Japan and Artscape Japan. He has published three books of essays about Tokyo and teaches American literature, culture and film at Meiji Gakuin University.

For Michael Pronko's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

CULTURE / Music

Sep 8, 2002

So this trumpeter goes to a club . . .

With three releases over the last four years, Norwegian trumpet player Nils Petter Molvaer and his group have developed a unique hybrid sound that has proved to be an underground success not only in Europe, but also in the United States and Japan.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Sep 8, 2002

Tokyo Jazz 2002: The hybrid of a new generation

Though Herbie Hancock may not have the fancy footwork of the heroes who usually play Tokyo Stadium, as director of Tokyo Jazz 2002, he still managed to draw over 37,000 people to the soccer pitch the weekend of Aug. 24. This attendance alone would rank the festival, the first in a planned annual series,...

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Sep 4, 2002

John Hicks: "Music in the Key of Clark"

Tribute albums only work if the feeling's right. Songs can always be rearranged, styles copied and energy siphoned off past achievements, but if the feeling isn't right, it's just parasitic. John Hicks' new CD, "Music in the Key of Clark," dedicated to jazz piano great Sonny Clark, avoids this problem...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Aug 28, 2002

David Grisman Quintet: "Dawgnation"

Don't let the corny cover photos and the too-clever song titles playing on the word "dawg" throw you off. Virtuoso mandolin player David Grisman's latest, "Dawgnation," is made up of wonderful acoustic music that satisfies with a rambling, walking beat, freshness and honesty.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Aug 18, 2002

A man of truly noble blood

In 1987, Salif Keita released "Soro," and, though it was not his first album, for many listeners around the world it served as an introduction to the musician's unique sound: soaring West African-style vocals set to a new blend of traditional African rhythms and electric pop arrangements. He matched...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Aug 11, 2002

A jazz life to the fullest

It used to be that the jazz life followed a relatively set pattern. Young players joined the bands of older pros, learned what they could, went on to become a leader themselves and, maybe, if they were lucky, got a recording contract. Nowadays, however, jazz players are as likely to get their education...

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Aug 7, 2002

Kevin Mahogany: Pride and Joy

Kevin Mahogany's stunning new CD, "Pride and Joy," puts his rich baritone to work on a brand-new source of tunes -- Motown. Even though other jazz vocalists, such as Cassandra Wilson, have reworked everything from Son House to The Monkees into fresh jazz hybrids, why Motown -- with its incredibly well-crafted,...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Jul 31, 2002

Charanga Habanera

It says alot that Charanga Habanera were voted most popular band in Cuba in 1999; there, music is more important than even politics. The group's salsa is not the cheek-to-cheek, swing-around kind familiar to many dancers and listeners, but a rougher, more frenetic style called timba.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Jul 31, 2002

Eddie Palmieri: "La Perfect II"

Once upon a time, in a dance hall called the Palladium, in a city called New York, jazz bands vied with each other in all-night contests to see who could play the hottest, fastest and wildest dance music possible. Among those bands, Eddie Palmieri's La Perfecta was one of the most popular. But, with...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 24, 2002

From Jamaica to jazz

In developing their own sound, many jazz groups borrow from other musical genres -- salsa, bossa nova, high life, hip-hop, rap, rock, funk, classical. But only one man has blended jazz with reggae -- Monty Alexander.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Jul 14, 2002

Skip the jazz club, it's festival season

Most jazz people are night owls who don't get much sun, so summer festivals give the music, players and fans all a good airing out.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Jul 10, 2002

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band

All jazz groups ultimately descend from the brass band. The legendary Buddy Bolden, often credited with being the first true jazz musician to improvise freely, led the most popular brass band in New Orleans at the turn of the 19th century. A few years later, Louis Armstrong learned trumpet in a reformatory...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Jul 3, 2002

Dave Douglas: 'The Infinite'

Dave Douglas hardly needed to write "An Infinite Thank You to Miles Davis" in the liner notes of his latest CD, "The Infinite." The influence of Davis is present throughout this recording. But it's good. Very good. Douglas, who has released a series of tributes to jazz giants such as Mary Lou Williams,...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Jun 12, 2002

Tom Harrell: 'Live at the Village Vanguard'

The Village Vanguard in New York has long been jazz's sanctum sanctorum, a sacred space where jazz secrets were revealed nightly to the faithful. A list of players showcased at the club since the 1950s would form a musical family tree. Classic recordings there by John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Art Pepper,...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Jun 9, 2002

Playing off the beaten track

Certain tensions in the jazz world were clearly evident at the 10th annual Yokohama Jazz Promenade on May 25th and 26th. The performers split into two camps: those focusing on instrumental virtuosity and those avoiding the staple four-beat ching-chick-a-ching-chick-a-ching rhythm. The plasticity of rhythm...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jun 5, 2002

She's with the band

Basking in the spotlight has never been the way of jazz instrumentalists; they know how much they owe the band. But for jazz vocalists, the opposite tends to be true. Female singers, in particular, tend to be seen as center-stage divas more than an integral part of the group.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

May 29, 2002

Wayne Shorter: 'Footprints Live!'

Wayne Shorter first established himself as a central figure in the development of jazz as a member of Miles Davis' seminal mid-'60s quintet. He contributed a major portion of the compositions and a technique honed with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Shorter also released a series of recordings as leader...

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

May 22, 2002

Flamenco guitarist Vicente Amigo has "duende," that mysterious Iberian quality similar to "soul" that inspires the most passionate expressions of Spanish culture. This week he brings it to Tokyo for two performances accompanied by fellow flamenco musicians and dancers from Spain, along with backing from...

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

May 15, 2002

Japan Blues Carnival

The term "living legend" fits Buddy Guy as accurately as anyone. A leader of Chicago's West Side blues school (as distinct from South Side blues), Guy began recording in the 1950s and has never stopped. Still, "Damn Right I've Got the Blues," released in 1991, somehow felt like a comeback, with a rejuvenated...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

May 12, 2002

The smallest jazz club in the world -- or close

At the Hot House jazz club in Takadanobaba, you not only rub elbows with great jazz musicians and intense fans, you also rub shoulders, knees, ankles and hips. To get to the toilet, someone has to stand up (me as it turned out); to get in the door, the pianist has to move his bench; and to get a drink...

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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