"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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Kissaten Nasu is three separate but conjoined entities: As the name of the restaurant implies, it's a kissaten, a traditional cafe. But it's also a curry shop and a jazz cafe, and the master might just be one of the most dapper and suave ...
Singer Peggy Hayama, best known for performing the Japanese version of "Do-Re-Mi" from the Broadway musical "The Sound of Music," died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on Wednesday. She was 83. After starting her career as a jazz singer at a U.S. military camp ...
Fusion pioneer Larry Coryell, one of the first guitarists to win an audience bringing a rock edge to the jazz guitar, has died. He was 73. The guitarist, who kept a busy recording and touring schedule and had concerts planned well into 2017, died of ...
For casual fans or people who have yet to encounter Baker, "Born To Be Blue" is a good place to start, perfectly encapsulating the fragility and self-destructive urges that underlined his uniquely beautiful and melancholic music.
Tokyo Jazz Festival is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and its lineup is a healthy mix of up-and-coming artists and giants of the genre. Among the heavy hitters will be pianists Makoto Ozone, Herbie Hancock and Hiromi Uehara. Ozone will front a big band ...
After more than 60 years of passion for jazz music, a Japanese jazz trio has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the band with the world's oldest average age — 83 years. The group, Golden Senior Trio, is based in the Kansai region. Its ...
Singer-songwriter Emi Meyer says she's never been one for covers — though she admits a one-off performance of Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks" went over really well with a South Korean audience recently. Her latest album, "Monochrome," isn't a covers album per se, but ...
Smooth jazz pioneer and inadvertent godfather of hip-hop break-beats, Bob James is about to add another accolade to his list of accomplishments. At this weekend's 14th Tokyo Jazz Festival, the keyboardist will debut his first piano concerto. While James has worn many hats in the ...
Shunzo Ohno, trumpet at his side, buzzes his lips as he loosens up for the next song — his vibrating mouth a thing of marvel, given all he has been through. To look at him on stage, a laid-back musician in an orange blazer and ...
