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

Aug 22, 2004

Ryukyu Underground: "Ryukyu Remixed"

"Respect Records" perfectly describes the way this label feels that obscure styles of music, such as Okinawan, calypso, Hawaiian and Irish music, should be handled. Clearly, the folks at Respect are unusually dedicated. However, their recent release, "Ryukyu Remixed," is poised to gain recognition far...

CULTURE / Music

Aug 15, 2004

Live: Jesus Chucho Valdes

Though many of the best Cuban musicians have immigrated to the United States over the past couple decades, virtuoso pianist and bandleader Jesus Chucho Valdes has remained in Cuba. Whether that's a political or musical stance, or just personal preference, Valdes has found plenty to do at home. Quite...

CULTURE / Music

Aug 15, 2004

Free spirit moves between jazz and classical

Jazz pianist Makoto Ozone has spent the last 20 years moving between Japan and the United States, so it is perhaps no surprise that his most recent release, New Spirit, moves comfortably between two musical worlds classical and jazz. Though Ozone could rest on a remarkable career in jazz, becoming one...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Aug 1, 2004

David Murray and the Gwo-Ka Masters: "Gwotet"

David Murray likes to toy with combinations. On his most recent release, "Gwotet," he implausibly mixes a punchy Latin horn section, rollicking Afro-beat guitar and three or four distinct drumming traditions. Then he lathers it all in unrestrained free jazz blowing. Though not all Murray's many grand...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Aug 1, 2004

Pursuing a degree in bop and beyond

Senzoku University is different from other universities in Japan. Huge black cases jam the hallways; five parallel lines are etched onto the whiteboards; lecterns hold stereo systems; and many classrooms are empty but for a few metal stands or the occasional grand piano. It's all down to the study of...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Jul 18, 2004

Candela rise above definitions of East and West

Japanese culture is famed for importing artistic forms and converting them to new patterns, but one local group of foreign musicians is trying to reverse that trend. Candela, a group of four American musicians with diverse musical backgrounds, creates jazz-based music with Japanese melodies; folk tunes...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 18, 2004

Youssou N'Dour: "Egypt"

Since the world-music boom in the 1980s, Youssou N'Dour has been one of the most popular African performers. Crossing the traditional Senegalese music of his home country with the production values of European studios, he created a brilliant blend of sounds that wowed audiences around the world. However,...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 11, 2004

Andy Bey: "American Song"

The best vocal jazz release yet this year, Andy Bey's "American Song" reconceives jazz standards in passionate new forms. Reinventing classics is no easy business, but Bey knows how to deliver a song with unadorned sincerity and a savvy sense of vocal improvisation.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 4, 2004

Spring Heel Jack: "The Sweetness of the Water"

Spring Heel Jack's followup to last year's near-masterpiece "Live" finds the duo of John Coxon and Ashley Wales again far from home in strange company for a brand-new CD of quirky experimentation, "The Sweetness of the Water."

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jun 20, 2004

Angelique Kidjo: "Oyaya!"

More than just simply "Afro-Cuban," Angelique Kidjo explores an astonishing range of music with impressive eloquence. The cross-pollination of calypso, merengue, samba and African pop needs a couple handfuls of hyphens to form the right musical description, yet yields an intense naturalness. The Latin...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY

Jun 6, 2004

A voice like none other

Though many postmodern jazz musicians are tireless experimentalists, they often end up producing interesting concepts more than good music. Pianist, composer and band leader Hiroshi Minami, however, is that rare jazz musician who sets up intriguing musical challenges that feel natural. He plays an engaging...

CULTURE / Music

May 23, 2004

Otis Taylor: "Double V"

Otis Taylor's fifth recording, "Double V," is razor-sharp, stripped-down blues brimming with conviction and conscience. Distilling outrage over social injustices into poignant refrains, Taylor sings in angry rasps and whispers of suffering. His blues hits like moonshine; it's hard not to shudder.

CULTURE / Music

May 16, 2004

Claudia Acuna: "Luna"

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

May 9, 2004

The Don Friedman Trio & Dave Pietro and Jonathan Katz

The summer jazz season is starting a little early this year. Even before the annual deluge of talent filling Japan's many festivals and clubs, two tours this May will more than whet the appetite for the busy summer season.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

May 2, 2004

Bill Charlap Trio: "Somewhere"

Pianist Bill Charlap has become one of the finest -- and most prolific -- interpreters of standards in jazz today. Securing the coveted position as pianist for hard-bopping Phil Woods, and gracing countless straight-ahead recordings (as well as a Steely Dan CD) over the past decade, he has still found...

CULTURE / Music

Apr 25, 2004

Otis Rush, Mavis Staples and The Derek Trucks Band

In 1950s Chicago, urban blues exploded into a musical revolution. Fueled by new-style amps and electric guitars, pioneers like Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and Elmore James forged a hard-driving soundtrack for the new urban culture of migrants from the south. Otis Rush, who headlines this May's Japan Blues...

CULTURE / Music

Apr 18, 2004

Philipp Van Endert: "Trio"

Occasionally, the last grab of a CD buying spree is the winner. That's certainly the case with Philipp Van Endert's "Trio," a CD of brilliantly fluid guitar-trio jazz that I found tucked down at the bottom of a new-release display. Such an accomplished cool jazz session would normally have scads of online...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Apr 4, 2004

DD Jackson's muscular and frenetic keyboard style reminds listeners that the piano is, after all, a percussion instrument. He drums the piano as much as plays it, drawing out sounds that few other contemporary players can manage. While traditional-minded fans of lyrical piano will wince at his attack,...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Mar 14, 2004

Tomasz Stanko: "Suspended Night"

Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko's newest release, "Suspended Night," is a masterpiece of minimalist beauty. A suite of interconnected compositions, "Suspended Night" simply numbers its "Variations" I to X. The unaffected simplicity and flexible modal structures strip down chords and melody lines to allow...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Mar 7, 2004

Kazutoki Umezu's music draws on eclectic sources from around the globe and mixes them into a beguiling brew. Avoiding the high-art pretense of many postmodern mix-masters, Umezu always grounds his sound in a high-energy sense of fun. Even when zipping between klezmer, Mongolian folk songs, progressive...

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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