Swing Journal, a long-standing monthly magazine that has led the jazz culture of postwar Japan, is suspending publication after its July edition hits newsstands June 19, mainly due to dwindling advertising revenues, its publisher said Monday.
The magazine, first published in 1947, played a central role in expanding the reach of jazz in Japan by featuring such renowned players as Miles Davis and John Coltrane, as well as Japanese musicians such as Sadao Watanabe and Terumasa Hino.
"We will make efforts to revive it somehow," said Takafumi Mimori, the magazine's editor-in-chief.
Jazz pianist Makoto Ozone expressed disappointment with the magazine's imminent suspension. "I appreciate the fact that Swing Journal has respectfully introduced young and new musicians," Ozone said.
