While summer rock festivals are as numerous as fireworks, outdoor jazz concerts have recently become as rare as a non-humid day. Just five years ago, Japan had so many jazz festivals all over the country that musicians had trouble making the tightly scheduled gigs. Then, sadly, economics caught up, distance and weather took their toll, and most jazz fests stopped what had always been, basically, a labor of love.
Fortunately a few survived. The next two weekends, three of the best still-thriving events, each with its own distinctive character, will offer a wide range of music in full festival style. Tokyo Jazz brings in big-name foreign bands and world music. Yokohama Honmoku Jazz Festival throws a delightful outdoor party and Bay Side Jazz Chiba Jazz Street presents the finest of Tokyo's jazz scene in intimate surroundings.
Tokyo Jazz, with big names, sponsors and high production values, has taken five years to find the right balance. The original soccer stadium, where temperatures soared and the sound system echoed, has been traded in for swanker surroundings in the International Forum. At the Forum, you can hear the nuance of the music, sit on something other than flimsy lawn chairs, and it is an easy walk to food and drink.