Mike Price toured Japan seven times with Toshiko Akiyoshi's big band, and on the eighth, he stayed.
"I was blown away when I first came to Japan in 1976," Price said over coffee at the Kichijoji jazz kissaten Scratch, "by the newness, of course, but also by the stronger taste for jazz here."
Price settled in Tokyo in 1989 and now leads his own big band, orchestra and quintet that play regularly in local clubs. The band and orchestra draw heavily on Price's experiences with three of the most renowned large American modern jazz groups -- those of Akiyoshi, Stan Kenton and Buddy Rich.