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Japanese jazz

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Clockwise from upper left: Jazz composer and pianistHiromi Uehara,aJazu Kissajazz café in Tokyo, trumpet player Taniguchi Mataji in 1948, andSoil & "Pimp" Sessions'double bassist Akita Goldman.

Japanese jazz(Japanese:Nhật Bản の ジャズ,Nihon no jazu), also calledJapazz,isjazzplayed byJapanesemusicians or jazz connected toJapanorJapanese culture.According to some estimates, Japan has the largest proportion of jazz fans in the world.[1]

Jazz was introduced to Japan in the 1910s throughtranspacificocean liners,whereFilipinomusicians took influences from jazz, with the Philippines being anAmerican colonyat the time. Following the rise of the music recording industry, the lyrics of popular jazz records such as "The Sheik of Araby"and"My Blue Heaven"were translated into Japanese. Jazz was associated with Japanese counterparts toflappersanddandiesand often played indance halls.[2]Although considered "enemy music" in Japan duringWorld War II,due to its American roots, the genre was too popular for a ban,[3]and many disobeyed the state-mandated destruction of jazz records.[4]

During theoccupation of Japanfollowing World War II, there was a large demand for entertainment for American troops, and jazz was particularly popular.[2]By the 1970s, theJapanese economic miraclepaved the way for Japanese jazz musicians to achieve international fame, along with new musical genres such ascity pop,kankyō ongaku,andJapanese folk music.[5]Japanese jazz musicians also began to evolve pastBlue Notemimicry and experimented withfree jazz,fusion funk,andbebop,among others. This furthered the distinct sound of Japanese jazz. During the 1980s,digital music technologybegan to influence Japanese jazz.[6]

In present-day Japan, jazz has become more of analternative genre.It is no longer as popular, but retains the largest proportion of jazz fans in the world.[1]Jazu Kissa(literallyjazz café),[a]dedicated spaces whereaficionadosgather to listen to jazz records, appeared in the 1950s and 60s.[7]A phenomenon unique to the country, there are roughly 600Jazu Kissain present-day Japan, including some where conversation is prohibited. Recently,[b]there has also been an increase inJazu Kissain rural areas.[4]Contemporary Japanese jazz musicians includeHiromi Uehara,Kyoto Jazz Massive,United Future OrganizationandSoil & "Pimp" Sessions.

History

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Jazz became popular in Japan in the 1920s, following visits by bands from America and the Philippines, where American popular music had been introduced by the occupying forces.[8]TheHatano Jazz Bandis sometimes described as the first Japanese jazz band,[9]although they were primarily adance band.[10]The band, which was created in 1912 by graduates fromTokyo Music School,[11]absorbed and performed American dance music after traveling to San Francisco,[12]but their music did not claim to feature jazz improvisation.[13]

Local jazz practice, built around the performances of visiting Filipinos, began to emerge in the early 1920s, most notably in the prosperous entertainment districts ofOsakaandKobe.By 1924, the city of Osaka already boasted twenty dance halls, which gave many Japanese-born musicians an opportunity to play jazz professionally.[14]TrumpeterFumio Nanri(1910–1975) was the first of these Japanese jazz performers to gain international acclaim for his playing style. In 1929 Nanri traveled toShanghai,where he played with American jazz pianistTeddy Weatherford,and in 1932 he toured in the United States. After his return to Japan, Nanri made several recordings with his bandHot Peppers,an American-styleswingband.[15]

The "Americanness" and mass appeal of early jazz as dance music gave reason for concern among the conservative Japanese elite, and in 1927 Osaka municipal officials issued ordinances that forced the dance halls to close. A large number of young musicians switched to the jazz scene inTokyo,where some found employment in the house jazz orchestras of the major recording companies.[16]

In 1933 Chigusa, Japan's surviving oldest jazz cafe, orJazu kissa,opened inYokohama.[17][18]Since then, jazz coffeehouses have provided a popular alternative to the dance hall, offering the latest jazz records (while occasionally also hosting live performances) to an attentively listening audience.[19]In the 1930s, popular song composersRyoichi HattoriandKoichi Sugiitried to overcome jazz music's controversial qualities by creating a distinctively Japanese kind of jazz music. They reworked ancient Japanese folk or theatre songs with a jazz touch, and in addition wrote new jazz songs that had Japanese thematic content and often closely resembled well-known traditional melodies.[20]Hattori's songs, however, flirted with controversy, most notably in his 1940Shortage Song(タリナイ・ソング,Tarinai songu),which he wrote forTadaharu Nakano'sRhythm Boys. Satirizing the shortages of food and material then widespread in Japan, the song drew the ire of government censors and was quickly banned.[21]The controversy was among the factors that led to the Rhythm Boys' breakup in 1941.

DuringWorld War II,jazz was considered "enemy music" and banned in Japan. However, by then the genre had become far too popular for a complete ban to be successful. Jazz-like songs, sometimes of a strongly patriotic type, continued to be performed, though these songs were usually referred to as "light music."[3]Despite the state mandated destruction of jazz records, many did not comply, and hid their records until the aftermath of the war.[4]After the war, theAllied occupation of Japanprovided a new incentive for Japanese jazz musicians to emerge, as the American troops were eager to hear the music they listened to back home. PianistToshiko Akiyoshi(born 1929) arrived in Tokyo in 1948, determined to become a professional jazz musician. After having formed the Cozy Quartet she was then noticed byHampton Hawes,who was stationed inYokohamawith his military band, and brought to the attention ofOscar Peterson.Akiyoshi studied atBerklee College of Musicin Boston in 1956, and later achieved worldwide success as a bop pianist and big band leader.[22]

By the end of the 1950s, native jazz practice again flourished in Japan, and in the following decades an active free jazz scene reached its full growth. Critic Teruto Soejima considered 1969 as a pivotal year for Japanese free jazz, with musicians such as drummerMasahiko Togashi,guitaristMasayuki Takayanagi,pianistsYosuke YamashitaandMasahiko Satoh,saxophonistKaoru Abe,bassistMotoharu Yoshizawa,and trumpeterItaru Okiplaying a major role.[23]Other Japanese jazz artists who acquired international reputations includeSadao Watanabe(the former soloist of Akiyoshi's Cozy Quartet),Ryo Kawasaki,Teruo Nakamura,Toru "Tiger" OkoshiandMakoto Ozone.Most of these musicians have toured extensively in the United States and some have moved there permanently for a career in jazz performance or education.[24]

Jazz and Japanese culture

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Japanese jazz had frequently been criticized as derivative, or even as an unworthy imitation of U.S. jazz, both by American and Japanese commentators. In response to the belittling attitude of their audience, Japanese jazz artists began adding a "national flavor" to their work in the 1960s.[25]ExpatriateToshiko Akiyoshidrew on Japanese culture in compositions for thebig bandshe co-led with her husband and long-term collaboratorLew Tabackin.OnKogun(1974) they first utilized traditional instruments, such as thetsuzumi,andLong Yellow Road(1975) features an adaptation of a melody from the Japanese tradition of court music ( "Children in the Temple Ground" ).[26]Inspired by the analogies Akiyoshi presented to him between jazz music andZen Buddhism,jazz writer William Minor has suggested that a Zen aesthetic can be perceived in the music ofMasahiko Satohand other Japanese jazz artists.[27]Japanese musicianMinoru Muraokachose to apply his skill with the traditionalshakuhachiwoodwind instrument, which plays in theminor pentatonicscale, to a Jazz context and recorded multiple albums featuring the instrument as a centerpiece.[28]Muraoka helped to popularize theshakuhachias a jazz instrument, a practice carried on today by musicians like the California-born Bruce Hebner and New York-based Zac Zinger.[29][30]The Los Angeles-based smooth jazz bandHiroshimahas always featuredAsian Pacific Americanmusicians who play or double on traditional Japanese instruments including theshakuhachi,koto,andtaiko.[31]

Recent developments

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See also:Shibuya-kei

2000s

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Around the turn of the millennium, Tokyo remained the base for a small but thriving jazz community.[32]Jazz singer and pianistAyado Chiemanaged to reach out to a larger audience (both in Japan and internationally) with her emulation of black American vocal jazz.[33]In 2004,Blue Note Recordsreleased an album by 17-year-old mainstream and bop pianistTakashi (Matsunaga)featuring his own compositions,Storm Zone.Takashi's most recent CD is titledLove Makes the Earth Float(2008).[34][35]In 2005 Japanese jazz groupSoil & "Pimp" Sessionsreleased their full-length debutPimp Master,with tracks of the album gaining attention from DJs abroad and they began to receive heavy air-play onGilles Peterson's Worldwide radio program on BBC Radio 1 in the UK.[36]This got the album released in Europe on Compost and in UK on Peterson'sBrownswood Recordingsand subsequent albums by Soil & Pimp got released on Brownswood, making them arguably the most popular club jazz band to come out of Japan. Osaka based quartetIndigo jam unithave released eleven original and four cover albums since their debut with the albumDemonstrationin 2006[37][38][39][40]and have been described as a tight and energetic mix between a traditional jazz sound andnu jazzwith distinctive beats and flowing jazz piano.[41]After releasing their 11th albumLightsin 2015, they announced that they would break up in summer of the following year[42]

Jazz pianistHiromi Ueharahas received worldwide recognition since her debut in 2003 withAnother Mind,which was a critical success in North America and in her native Japan, where the album shipped gold (100,000 units) and received the Recording Industry Association of Japan's (RIAJ)Jazz Album of the Year Award.In 2009, she recorded with pianistChick CoreaDuet,a two-disc live recording of their transcendent, transgenerational and transcultural duo concert in Tokyo. She also appeared on bassistStanley Clarke’s Heads Up International release, Jazz in the Garden, which also featured former Chick Corea bandmate, drummerLenny White.[43]In 2011 Hiromi started her piano trio project, The Trio Project withAnthony JacksonandSimon Phillipsand has released four albums under the name of this project.[44]Recently not only does she play with jazz musicians but also she collaborates with notable J-pop musicians and bands and orchestras such asAkiko Yano,Dreams Come True,Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra,andNew Japan Philharmonic.[45]Additionally, the pianistMakoto Ozonecollaborated with the prize-winning singerKimiko Itoh.[46]

2010s

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Influenced by modern jazz in America that uses odd meters and rhythmic and harmonic elements ofHip-hop,R&B,andNeo soul,the sound of Japanese jazz has become more musically complicated and diverse. The bands and artists that represent those new sounds includesMEGAPTERAS,Yasei Collective,Shun Ishiwaka(Thạch nếu tuấn),Mononkul,andTakuya Kuroda.While modern jazz sound is becoming mainstream in the music scene, there are still some jazz musicians who play traditional styles of jazz such as Bebop,Hard bop,andpost-bop.[citation needed]

In 2012, jazz pianistAi Kuwabara,whose style is described as post-Hiromi Uehara,released her first albumfrom here to there.Five years later, she recordedsomehow, someday, somewhere,in which Ai collaborated with American jazz drummerSteve Gaddand bassistWill Lee.[47]Shun Ishiwaka, jazz drummer and composer, has received huge recognition in Japan because of his incomparable technique and cutting-edge sound and been a part of many recordings and projects with notable musicians such asTerumasa Hino,Tokyo New City Orchestra,Taylor McFerrin,andJason Moran.Shun released his debut albumCleanupin 2015 in which he combined elements of contemporaryclassical music,hip-hop,andstraight ahead jazzand this album received "Album of the year new star praise" and “Jazz album of the year 2015” from Japan's two biggest jazz magazines Jazz Japan and Jazz Life respectively.[48]In 2016, Shun had a concert with his own trio having guitaristKurt Rosenwinkelas a guest atBlue Note Tokyo.[49]

Ryo Fukui,a now deceased jazz pianist who, in life, struggled to achieve recognition outside of Japan, experienced a monumental rise in popularity thanks to streaming platforms likeYouTube Music,Spotify,and others.[6]His most notable work, 1976's "Scenery"is now the most widely consumed Japanese Jazz album on YouTube, having accrued nearly 10 million views as of July 2020.[citation needed]This has led to his albums being reprinted for commercial sale,[50]some of which even using the original studio tapes from 1976, andmastered in half speed.[citation needed]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^abCraig, Timothy J. (2000).Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture.M.E. Sharpe. p. 29.ISBN978-0-7656-0560-3.Retrieved31 January2015.
  2. ^abJarenwattananon, Patrick (30 April 2014)."How Japan Came To Love Jazz".Retrieved16 March2023.
  3. ^abAtkinsBlue Nippon,pp. 127-63.
  4. ^abc"Tokyo Jazz Kissa: Vintage High Fidelity with #VINYL".Resistor Magazine.1 October 2020.Retrieved16 March2023.
  5. ^"Jazz in Japan, a story of resilience".Fahrenheit Magazine.Retrieved16 March2023.
  6. ^abVan Nguyen, Dean (12 January 2022)."'Society was volatile. That spirit was in our music': how Japan created its own jazz ".The Guardian.Retrieved16 March2023.
  7. ^Matsumoto, Takuya (25 December 2020)."A Legendary Jazz Café Brought to the Screen".Nippon.Retrieved16 March2023.
  8. ^William MinorJazz Journeys to Japan: The Heart Within,Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004, p.9; E. Taylor AtkinsBlue Nippon: Authenticating Jazz in Japan,Durham: Duke University Press, 2001, pp. 58-60
  9. ^Simon Broughton; Mark Ellingham; Richard Trillo, eds. (2000).World Music: The Rough Guide.Vol. 2. Rough Guides Ltd. p. 147.ISBN9781858286365.
  10. ^AtkinsBlue Nippon,p. 53
  11. ^Toru Mitsui, ed. (2014).Made in Japan: Studies in Popular Music.Routledge. p. 5.ISBN9781135955342.
  12. ^Lash, Max E. (23 December 1964) "Jazz in Japan".The Japan Times.p. 5.
  13. ^AtkinsBlue Nippon,pp. 53, 287
  14. ^AtkinsBlue Nippon,p. 58
  15. ^Sugiyama, Kazunori."Fumio Nanri".Oxford Music Online: The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online.Retrieved14 October2009.
  16. ^AtkinsBlue Nippon,pp. 58 and 70-2.
  17. ^AtkinsBlue Nippon,pp. 5 and 74
  18. ^"ジャズ dùng trà ちぐさ｜ジャズ dùng trà & âm lặc バー｜ hoành bang khu phố khu dã mao đinh".ジャズ dùng trà ちぐさ(in Japanese).Retrieved2020-12-09.
  19. ^David Novak 2008 "2,5 x 6 metres of space: Japanese music coffeehouses and experimental practices of listening",Popular Music,27:1: 15-34
  20. ^AtkinsBlue Nippon,pp. 132-9.
  21. ^Bourdaghs, M.K. (2013).Sayonara Amerika, Sayonara Nippon: A Geopolitical Prehistory of J-Pop.Columbia University Press.ISBN9780231530262.Retrieved2015-01-31.
  22. ^[MinorJazz Journeys,pp. 31-41; AtkinsBlue Nippon,pp. 207-9 and 240-1; J. Bradford Robinson and Barry Kernfeld. "Akiyoshi, Toshiko", inThe New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,2nd ed.,edited by Barry Kernfeld. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, (accessed October 14, 2009).
  23. ^Crépon, Pierre (2019)."Omnidirectional Projection: Teruto Soejima and Japanese Free Jazz".Point of Departure(67).
  24. ^MinorJazz Journeys,pp. 22-30, 45-58, 136-45 and 273-7.
  25. ^Atkins, Blue Nippon, pp. 165-264.
  26. ^AtkinsBlue Nippon,pp. 240-1; MinorJazz Journeys,pp. 31-41
  27. ^MinorJazz Journeys,pp. 39, 58 andpassim
  28. ^Egon (2012-04-23)."The Shakuhachi Jazz Of Minoru Muraoka".npr.org.Retrieved2024-02-08.
  29. ^"A Homecoming of the Heart: Shakuhachi Player Bruce Huebner".nippon.2017-12-06.Retrieved2024-02-09.
  30. ^"Zac Zinger".Japanese Traditional Music.Retrieved2024-02-09.
  31. ^"After 40 Years, Hiroshima's Music Still Resonates".NBC News.2016-09-16.Retrieved2024-09-30.
  32. ^Minor, Jazz Journeys, pp. 316–322.
  33. ^Atkins, Blue Nippon, pp. 271–272.
  34. ^Porter, Christopher."Jazz Departments: Takashi - By Christopher Porter — Jazz Articles".Jazztimes. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-02-29.Retrieved2012-08-11.
  35. ^"Profile tùng vĩnh quý chí -Takashi Matsunaga- Official website".Takashimatsunaga. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-05-11.Retrieved2012-08-11.
  36. ^"Glastonbury 2015 - SOIL&" PIMP "SESSIONS".BBC Music Events.Retrieved2018-04-18.
  37. ^"Lira Lyssna". Lira (Sweden). February 2012: 9.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  38. ^Tokyo Jazz Notes (2011-09-03)."indigo jam unit feat. Alicia Saldenha - Rose".Tokyo Jazz Notes.Retrieved2012-04-03.
  39. ^Basis Records."indigo jam unit official web site discography".Basis Records. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-12-26.Retrieved2012-05-25.
  40. ^Oricon."Oricon indigo jam unit profile".Oricon Inc.Retrieved2012-05-25.
  41. ^"Lira Lyssna". Lira (Sweden). February 2012: 119.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  42. ^"- basis records: indigo jam unit -".basisrecords.Archived fromthe originalon 2018-04-19.Retrieved2018-04-18.
  43. ^"PROFILE|Hiromi Uehara".Hiromi Uehara.Retrieved2018-04-18.
  44. ^"DISCOGRAPHY".Hiromi Uehara.Retrieved2018-04-18.
  45. ^"PROFILE| thượng nguyên ひろみ オフィシャルサイト".Thượng nguyên ひろみ オフィシャルサイト(in Japanese).Retrieved2018-04-18.
  46. ^"Đệ 34 hồi ( 2000 niên độ ) スイングジャーナル ジャズ・ディスク đại thưởng - ジャズ danh bàn giới thiệu サイト JAZZCD.JP".jazzcd.jp.10 September 2015.
  47. ^"ジャズピアニスト tang nguyên あい の オフィシャルサイト.".aikuwabara.Retrieved2018-04-18.
  48. ^"Thạch nếu tuấn SHUN ISHIWAKA OFFICIAL WEBSITE".Shun Ishiwaka.Retrieved2018-04-19.
  49. ^"【BLUE NOTE TOKYO】The EXP Series #06 SHUN ISHIWAKA CLEANUP TRIO meets KURT ROSENWINKEL (2016 6.27 mon.)".Blue Note TOKYO(in Japanese).Retrieved2018-04-19.
  50. ^"Ryo Fukui – Japanese Jazz Legend, Rediscovered".Pen Magazine International.2021-12-11.Retrieved2024-02-09.
  1. ^Alternatively, since "Kissa" means "have a cup of tea", "Jazu kissa" could be interpreted as "a place where you can listen to jazz while drinking tea."
  2. ^As of 2020.

Further reading

[edit]
  • E. Taylor Atkins “Can Japanese sing the blues? 'Japanese jazz' and the problem of authenticity”, in Timothy J. Craig (ed.)Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture,Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2000
  • E. Taylor Atkins,Blue Nippon: Authenticating Jazz in Japan,Durham: Duke University Press, 2001.
  • Teruto Soejima,Free Jazz in Japan: A Personal History,Nara: Public Bath Press, 2018.
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