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July 24, 2025
 

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JAZZ

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 6, 2015
Jazz trumpeter Toshinori Kondo issues a challenge to modern-day musicians
On a chilly Friday afternoon in December, trumpet player Toshinori Kondo reclines in the clutter of his Kawasaki recording studio, pours out two cups of shōchū liquor, and starts to explain what prompted him to abandon a lucrative career in Japan and move to Amsterdam in 1993.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2014
Robot jazz singer serenades audience in Tokyo
Who says you need soul to sing jazz?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 7, 2014
Vibraphonist Locke to hit all the right notes
The vibraphone is one of the more unique instruments to infiltrate jazz. A holy mash-up of the piano and the percussive, it's the duck-billed platypus of musical instrumentation. In terms of cool, it's unfairly lodged somewhere between the tuba and the clarinet. Its old-school practitioners now exude...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
Sep 9, 2014
Tokyo Jazz Festival impresses again
Sitting in a muddy field is taken as par for the course, and possibly even part of the attraction, at major summer festivals like Fuji Rock. But rain would certainly have put a damper on any jazz festival set in the heart of the capital. Luckily, although the clouds threatened to burst on both Saturday...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2014
Jaga Jazzist brings the sound of Oslo to Tokyo Jazz Festival
Trying to slot artists into specific trends, genres and an ever-expanding number of subgenres is a constant obsession for meticulous music fans looking to define what they're listening to. Journalists categorize, sometimes to the dismay of the bands they're covering, to make things simpler for their...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2014
Tokyo Jazz Festival shows off its global reach with a diverse roster
Since launching in 2002, the Tokyo Jazz Festival has undergone a number of changes in terms of format and venues, and is now firmly established as one of the most important annual events on Japan's jazz calendar.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2014
'Jazz mecca' Osaka to host star-studded global concert
What comes to mind when you think of Osaka? Maybe takoyaki (octopus dumplings), the Hanshin Tigers, Universal Studios Japan, wacky comedy and down-to-earth, unpretentious people.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 1, 2014
Saxophonist Maceo Parker brings a funk legacy to Tokyo, Osaka on Japan visit
Maceo Parker will be carrying a heavy load of history on his shoulders when he visits Japan for a string of gigs this month, but you wouldn't know it from his carefree attitude.
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
Mar 11, 2014
New acts see good results off the beaten path
Jazz is a form of music that was born out of live performance, and fans in Japan are certainly spoiled for choice when it comes to places to see jazz gigs.
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
Feb 11, 2014
If it ain't got that swing, it's still jazz
Looking back on 2013, I think some of the strongest jazz releases I heard were from young people in the industry. I know, it's a bit too far into the new year to be retrospective, but it has led me to consider the possibility for a jazz renaissance of sorts in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
Dec 10, 2013
Ai Kuwabara tops favorites list for year in jazz
For the final Jazz Notes column of the year I met up with writer, blogger and presenter of InterFM's "OK Jazz" show James Catchpole to talk about the year in jazz at Eddie's Lounge in Tokyo's Arakawa Ward. It's run by our mutual friend, groove organist Eddie Landsberg.
Events / Events In Tokyo
Nov 28, 2013
Aoyama Gakuin University gets jazzed up for Sunday
Visitors to Tokyo's Aoyama district on Dec. 1 are encouraged to wear their dancing shoes this weekend, as Aoyama Gakuin University (AGU) once again hosts its annual Aoyama Jazz Initiative, a student-run celebration of jazz.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 12, 2013
U.S. jazz singer Harvey Thompson finds a new home in Japan's clubs
If Harvey Thompson had been a better 10-pin bowler, jazz would have been the loser.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2013
Pianist Ai Kuwabara to live out her dream on stage at Tokyo Jazz Festival
Pianist Ai Kuwabara is waxing nostalgic at the offices of her record label, East Works Entertainment, in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 24, 2013
August Live
For those people who can't take time off work for any of this month's major music festivals, there are still plenty of options for live music across the country.
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
Jul 10, 2013
Nothing beats a Hammond B3
This month started with a trip to Cotton Club in Tokyo's Marunouchi district to see the trio Aquapit play a gig to promote their new album "Orange."
CULTURE / Music / JAZZ NOTES
May 9, 2013
Female jazz acts are the real Cool Japan
One of the highlights of my Golden Week this year was a concert by the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Jazz Orchestra at Blue Note in Tokyo. Reuniting her big band for the first time in a decade, Akiyoshi rolled back the clock with a superb set and some witty banter. The high point of the Sunday night...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 2, 2013
Pianist provides a tribute to Canadian jazz legend for his debut
One decision that faces jazz musicians toward the start of their careers is whether to continue the traditions of what's gone before them or to try and strike out in a new direction.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 2, 2013
Pianist Onishi to come out of retirement
Pianist Junko Onishi will come out of retirement to perform one more time, at the finale of this year's Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 25, 2013
The first lady of Japanese jazz comes home
For Japanese jazz musicians these days, going to the United States to further mastery of the genre is a much-pursued rite of passage. This route has enabled a number of acts to gain international recognition and success.
Japan and U.S. reach tariff deal with ‘reciprocal’ rate at 15%
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan on Tuesday, saying the agreement would create "hundreds of thousands of jobs."
Ishiba denies reports he will resign next month, leaving his fate unclear
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba looks on after meeting with the Liberal Democratic Party executives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan and U.S. both claim win in surprise 11th-hour tariff deal
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan chief tariff negotiator, in Tokyo
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan
In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
Rice grain-sized earphone may have been used to cheat on TOEIC English test
A pendant-shaped relay device suspected to have been used to cheat on the TOEIC English proficiency test, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Tuesday
Japan leans into homegrown AI amid rising competition
McKinsey’s 2025 Technology Trends Outlook, published Wednesday, says that the use of “sovereign AI” is a trend gaining significant global traction, including in Japan.
Induction of Ichiro has Cooperstown fretfully preparing
Ichiro Suzuki will soon become the first Japanese player to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
JT picks: What not to miss at Fuji Rock 2025
Fuji Rock Festival turns the green slopes of Niigata Prefecture’s Naeba Ski Resort into a summer escape that offers soundtracks for every mood.
Japan’s top brands get tied up in the great sunscreen debate
A coral reef in Okinawa in July 2022. Some jurisdictions around the world have moved to ban certain sunscreens in a bid to protect coral reefs, but some say the impact on reefs is far from clear.
Pentagon looks to unleash ‘military drone dominance’
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosts a drone demonstration at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on July 10.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan
By Alex K.T. Martin

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