jazz

Lifestyle Jan 13, 2019

Step into Sawano Kobo, an unusual mix of sandals and music

by Kaori Shoji

Traditional Japanese footwear and European jazz make a bizarre but successful combination at the Sawano Kobo store in Osaka.

Music | Sound Off Nov 29, 2018

Farewell Mary Jane: Grieving for a lost jazz hideout

by James Catchpole

The late Donald Richie, a legendary chronicler of 20th century Japan, once said that to accept life in Tokyo, you must embrace constant change and not give in to nostalgia. In the 60 years he lived in this great city he saw multiple transformations ...

Music Sep 11, 2018

The Lagerphones look to charm Japan one coffee shop at a time

by Alyssa I. Smith

If you're in a foreign band trying to plan a tour in Japan, you sometimes need to improvise when it comes to booking venues. That may be why you're more likely to find Australian six-piece The Lagerphones at a cozy cafe than a grimy ...

Music Aug 22, 2018

Blast the horns: Tower of Power celebrates 50 years with a few more milestones

by Greg Mccartney

Ten-member Tower of Power will touch down in Asia toward the end of this month on the band's latest trip to the region to play its renowned blend of soul and jazz, on a series of dates in Tokyo, Nagoya and Manila. But the Oakland, ...

Music Jun 7, 2018

From Kansai to New York: Jazz trumpeter Takuya Kuroda on going back to basics

by Oscar Boyd

In the dimly lit Under Deer Lounge in Shibuya, jazz trumpeter Takuya Kuroda conducts an impromptu ensemble with raucous enthusiasm. Preceded by his Afro, he bounces around stage, announcing soloists and welcoming new musicians to the front. The music is undoubtedly Kuroda's, but the rotating ...

Music Mar 29, 2018

Kiyoshi Koyama: A life lived with jazz

by Katherine Whatley

"I have lived a life alongside jazz," says Kiyoshi Koyama, jazz critic, journalist and radio host. This is apparent on a recent visit to his home in Chiba Prefecture, where he and his wife live surrounded by walls of neatly organized records, CDs, books ...

Entertainment News Jan 24, 2018

'Father of South African Jazz' and apartheid foe Hugh Masekela dead at 78

Hugh Masekela, the legendary South African jazz musician and anti-apartheid activist, has died after a decade-long fight with cancer. He was 78. Often called the "Father of South African jazz," Masekela died in Johannesburg after what his family said Tuesday was a "protracted and courageous ...

Books Oct 28, 2017

Reading to the beat of Kazuko Shiraishi, the black sheep of Japan's poets

by Hiroaki Sato

For the past half-century Kazuko Shiraishi has represented Japan in a number of international poetry festivals and conferences — in at least 28 countries, she tells me in a recent interview. Sea, Land, Shadow, by Kasuko Shiraishi, Translated by Yumiko Tsumura.64 pages NEW DIRECTIONS, Poetry. She says ...

Music Sep 12, 2017

Wonk plays around with 'experimental soul' on a pair of new albums

by James Hadfield

"The way music from America and other Western countries got imported into Japan, the roots are different," says Ayatake Ezaki, keyboardist for Tokyo-based quartet Wonk. "In Japan, hip-hop is hip-hop, jazz is jazz, soul is soul — that's how they've been received," he continues. "But ...

Music Aug 31, 2017

Miho Hazama will celebrate 100 years of jazz at Tokyo Jazz Festival performance

by James Hadfield

Japanese audiences are renowned as some of the world's most respectful listeners, but for musicians accustomed to getting more raucous receptions elsewhere, the experience can be a little unnerving. When New York-based jazz composer Miho Hazama returned to her native Tokyo a few years ago ...

Music Aug 31, 2017

Drum prodigy Senri Kawaguchi doesn't put limits on her music

by James Hadfield

In 2010, the online encyclopedia Drummerworld added a 13-year-old Japanese schoolgirl to its list of the world's greatest players. Senri Kawaguchi had rocketed to fame after posting YouTube videos of herself drumming along to songs from the "K-On!" anime series, wearing the same sailor-suit ...