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:

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Dec 5, 2001

Most performers would be more than happy to ride on the coattails of a famous sibling, but not Freddy Cole. The title of his 1990 release, "I'm Not My Brother, I'm Me!" clearly states his need to distance himself from older sibling Nat King Cole, one of the most important and most successful jazz vocal and piano stylists.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Nov 28, 2001

William Cepeda: 'Branching Out/Expandiendo Raices'

William Cepeda plays dynamic Latin jazz that combines the vibrant rhythm of the rich musical legacy of his homeland, Puerto Rico, with the sophisticated jazz melodies of the United States.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Nov 21, 2001

The David Murray Quartet

David Murray has led a topsy-turvy career. Rather than starting out in acceptable, marketable music and evolving toward free jazz, he broke out in the 1970s playing the genre's wildest styles of avant-garde, then floated back toward a more palatable approach.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Nov 14, 2001

Tom Pierson: 'Left, Right'

Tom Pierson has played and recorded elegant piano jazz in Tokyo for the last 10 years. His most recent CD, "Left, Right," is a collection of originals, plus a handful of covers, that occupy a deeply lyrical and highly expressive territory.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Nov 11, 2001

Fusion is dead, long live fusion

Fusion is the style of jazz pioneered by Miles Davis in the 1960s, most famously with his album "Bitches' Brew," in which the power, decibels and feedback of Jimi Hendrix were fused with the searing, exploratory complexity of John Coltrane.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Nov 4, 2001

Charlie Watts Tentet: Nothing but a jazz thing

In the 1960s, The Rolling Stones led the way in forging a rougher, rootsier style of rock out of R&B, '50s rock 'n' roll and Chicago blues. As the band's drummer, Charlie Watts helped set a new standard of rhythmic structure for rock, and his tight, anchoring beat was widely imitated. After that, what's left to do? Jazz, apparently.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Oct 31, 2001

Charles Lloyd: 'Hyperion With Higgins'

Charles Lloyd's 1966 release, "The Flowering," was one of the few jazz albums to find itself regularly tucked into living-room album stacks among the likes of Hendrix, Santana and the Dead. But, when the music industry shifted in the '70s to constricted market niches and less artist control, Lloyd tuned in and dropped out. He recorded a few sporadic, unremarkable sessions through the '70s and '80s, and taught transcendental meditation. Then, in the mid-'90s, he was offered a chance to record again, this time for the ECM label, and he took it. The result has been a series of calm, meditative jazz recordings produced with ECM's impeccable standards, stellar support and, most importantly, Lloyd's own vision intact. The most recent in this series, "Hyperion With Higgins," is perhaps the best.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Oct 24, 2001

Dr. John: 'Creole Moon'

Since the 1960s, Dr. John has been amazing live audiences with his own brand of New Orleans funk, blues, soul and "voodoo" music, but he's suffered a curious inability to get his music recorded right. Few of his records live up to the live experience, and even his live albums have been marred by mediocre production and a disappointing mix of songs. With his latest release, "Creole Moon," at long last the studio voodoo curse has been broken.

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Oct 14, 2001

Keep on jamming in the free world

One of the ironies of jazz is that it is now more popular in Europe and Japan than in its country of origin. While the fanatic obsession of overseas fans made jazz an important cultural export for the United States after the Second World War, now there is a substantial corps of non-American players no longer content to just listen. The Ninth Annual Yokohama Jazz Promenade last weekend provided clear evidence of the degree to which jazz spans cultures and of how it truly has become an international musical language.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Oct 3, 2001

Ray Wylie Hubbard: 'Eternal and Lowdown'

The 1970s produced an amazing crop of Texas singer-songwriters, though few have survived without some, shall we say, "life experiences." Transforming the pain and confusion of such experiences into self-revelatory, tight-rocking songs is what the Texas troubadour tradition is all about.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Sep 19, 2001

Dave Holland Quintet: 'Not for Nothin' '

On their third release, "Not for Nothin'," The Dave Holland Quintet picks up exactly where last year's "Prime Directive" left off -- with more compelling modern jazz.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Sep 12, 2001

Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown: 'Back to Bogalusa'

Louis Armstrong once said: "All music is folk music. I ain't never heard no horse sing a song." If any disc ever deserved the "folk music" label it would have to be Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's most recent release, "Back to Bogalusa," with its incredibly rich variety of American styles.

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Sep 9, 2001

Kichijoji ain't nuthin' but a jazz thang

Kichijoji offers more jazz per tsubo than almost any place in the city. Not only are rents cheaper than inside the Yamanote Line, but small-niche businesses seem to thrive here. Teeming with shops, restaurants and clubs, it is dynamic without being overwhelming. With clubs presenting live jazz every night and several of the best jazz kissaten and bars in Tokyo, Kichijoji offers affordable, high-quality venues all within walking distance of each other. The easy, neighborhood feel lets those interested (and those already obsessed) catch a live set at one jazz club, then head to another, then move on to a jazz kissaten to hear it played on audiophile-quality sound systems. For those in need of music to take home, Kichijoji also has more than its share of jazz record stores.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Sep 5, 2001

Tierney Sutton: 'Blue in Green'

Jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton's second release, "Blue in Green," is a stunning tribute to pianist Bill Evans. Evans, one of the most influential pianists of the past 50 years, expanded the rhythmic and harmonic possibilities of jazz. Evans also knew how to play to both a general audience and other musicians, as on the well-known Miles Davis release "Kind of Blue," to which Evans contributed both compositions and piano. Hence the saying: "Everybody digs Bill Evans."

CULTURE / Music

Sep 2, 2001

Foot-stompin', heart-stoppin' stuff

Carlinhos Brown is a phenomenon. Since the 1996 release of the highly acclaimed "Alfagamabetizado," he has been a prominent figure on the world music scene and compared to everyone from Prince, for his intriguing mix of musical styles, to Bob Marley, for his charismatic stage presence. At his show Aug. 23 at Shibuya AX, Brown lived up to the hype.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Aug 29, 2001

Charlie Haden: 'Nocturne'

Bolero is the Latin American equivalent of ballads -- slow, romantic, mid-tempo and loaded with sentimentality. As such, it is a style of music more suited to dancers moving cheek-to-cheek by candlelight than to a cutting-edge improvisational jazz artist. But on his latest release on the Gitanes label, "Nocturne," Charlie Haden demonstrates just how right the unlikely combination can be.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Aug 22, 2001

Ernest Ranglin: 'Gotcha!'

Ernest Ranglin has one of those split personalities. A native of Jamaica, he contributed his guitar work to countless ska sessions in the '50s and later played with famed Jamaican bands such as The Melodians and The Wailers and with Jimmy Cliff. The flip side is his love of jazz. As a genuine guitar virtuoso, he is capable of improvising in the best jazz tradition. His new release on the Telarc label, "Gotcha!" brings these two sides together delightfully.

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Aug 19, 2001

The Mike Price experience

Mike Price toured Japan seven times with Toshiko Akiyoshi's big band, and on the eighth, he stayed.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Jul 25, 2001

Alex Sipiagin: 'Steppin' Zone'

Pity any young trumpeter having to play in the shadows of Wynton, Miles and Louis. All the innovation's been done, all the peaks have already been reached. Still, there's always room for good music. Alex Sipiagin's second recording, "Steppin' Zone," may not propel him up there with the masters, but it will find him on many a CD player again and again.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Jul 18, 2001

Kei Akagi's newly released CD, "Palette," on the Videoarts Music label, uses the often overdone piano trio format for powerful explorations. While many pianists range across styles because they have no sound of their own, Akagi plays with a consistent voice that is strong enough to express itself in a variety of textures.

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

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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