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Yung-hsiang Kao

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Nov 20, 2009

Musette delivers taste of France

Louis Vuitton may have charmed Japanese wallets, but if Dominique Cravic and Daniel Colin have their way, musette will soon enchant Japanese ears and minds.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Sep 11, 2009

Hiromi "Place To Be"

After leading a trio, dabbling in a quartet and playing duets, Hiromi Uehara is going it alone.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Aug 28, 2009

Age is just a number, but for 76-year-old alto saxophonist Sadao Watanabe, some numbers matter. September sees Watanabe — fans and admirers refer to him as "Nabesada" — celebrate the 25th anniversary of Sadao's Club, his yearly concert series. Watanabe started Sadao's Club to introduce new,...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Aug 14, 2009

Eleven years is a long time to be out of the spotlight. For a musician, 11 years between albums usually results in a drastic change in style, sometimes not for the better, or an outdated sound that attracts only die-hard fans. However, Junko Onishi, 42, avoids both these fates because of a couple of...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 18, 2008

Rei Harakami and Kahimi Karie

During the 3rd-anniversary events at Liquidroom in Ebisu, Tokyo last August, Rei Harakami played with jazz-pop vocalist and pianist Akiko Yano in their group Yanokami. This August, the idiosyncratic, Kyoto-based electronic musician plays with multilingual singer Kahimi Karie at the same venue.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Apr 11, 2008

Jazz icon Akiko Yano finds her electronic muse

She released her acclaimed debut album 32 years ago at the age of 21, but Akiko Yano still refuses to rest on her laurels. Even with a 27th solo album on the way, the pianist, vocalist, lyricist and composer is still searching for new musical experiences.

CULTURE / Music

Mar 7, 2008

Pat Metheny "Day Trip"

Familiarity doesn't always breed contempt. Having played together on tour since 2003, guitarist Pat Metheny's new trio had performed live songs from his latest album, "Day Trip," before they even sat down to record it — in one or two takes per song — in just one day in October 2005. Taking...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 22, 2008

Amusician of many stripes, 41-year-old trumpeter Tomonao Hara, a recent collaborator with New York-based trumpeter Brian Lynch, revisits an old haunt this weekend to show three different sides of his personality.

CULTURE / Music

Feb 8, 2008

Steve Reid Ensemble "Daxaar"

Western musician goes to Africa to record original compositions with native artists. No, it's not Damon Albarn making a followup to "Mali Music" (2002), a pop-infused stab at African tunes, but Bronx native and Swiss resident Steve Reid. The drummer, composer and bandleader — and former Black Panther...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 1, 2008

"It's been a mutual love affair," says Sergio Mendes explaining his popularity in Japan by phone from Los Angeles. "That's why I come almost every year."

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jan 25, 2008

Unlike most jazz drummers — even those that lead their own band — Han Bennink is a force unto himself, playing in his own inimitable way regardless of who's alongside him.

CULTURE / Music

Jan 11, 2008

Kei Akagi Trio "Liquid Blue"

Though a music professor at the University of California, Irvine with 13 albums under his belt, 54-year-old Kei Akagi is still best known for having played on Miles Davis' last recorded works.

CULTURE / Music

Dec 7, 2007

Daphne "Carmin"

Though branded the French Bjork, 33-year-old Daphne's claim to fame in Japan comes from singing the theme song in a commercial for Kanebo hair products. But "La Cle," a bonus track on the Japanese release of her second album, "Carmin," reveals a sultry, sexy sound a million miles away from Iceland's...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Nov 9, 2007

The Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quintet

Gonzalo Rubalcaba may be Cuba's best export besides cigars. Though the 44-year-old pianist/composer, now based in the United States, has played with various groups in Japan before, notably at the Mount Fuji Jazz Festival in the 1990s, for his forthcoming tour he will hold a solo concert in addition to...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 5, 2007

Dream teams of any sort are temporary creations made to fulfill a fan's fantasies, and musical ones do not get any more fantastic than The Quartet. Pianist Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette are giants of the jazz world who are about to tour Japan...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Sep 7, 2007

Tokyo Jazz 2007

The Tokyo Jazz fest organized by NHK and Nikkei was a 2-day event when it started 5 years ago and, up until 2005, had Herbie Hancock as director. How things have changed.

CULTURE / Music

Aug 31, 2007

Marcus Miller "Free"

Brooklyn-born Marcus Miller kicks off his latest album playing the sitar, lending "Blast" an Indian groove before adopting a hip-hop beat in the chorus. It's an early indication of Miller's diverse musical tastes: "Free" features the noted bass guitarist playing 14 different instruments.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Aug 30, 2007

Hiromi Uehara's piano keys 'burn red'

It is easy to tell that Hiromi Uehara is a hypersensitive pianist, aware of everything around her as she performs. During one concert, a cell phone rang, and she quickly played a chord based on the ring tone to smooth over the interruption — and lessen the embarrassment for the offender. What sparks...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jul 20, 2007

Brian Lynch and Eddie Palmieri

Fresh from winning the 2007 Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy for "Simpatico," pianist Eddie Palmieri and trumpeter Brian Lynch are bringing their quartet to Japan. The group will play Blue Note Tokyo at its Roots Music Festival before continuing on to the Sapporo City Jazz festival.

CULTURE / Music

Jul 6, 2007

Ohta-san "Ukulele Bossa Nova"

The man who helped make the ukulele more than a Hawaiian curiosity continues to show listeners what the four-stringed instrument can do on his latest album. Here, Ohta-san — the stage name of 72-year-old, Honolulu-born Herb Ohta — covers Antonio Carlos Jobim songs, in tribute to the late...

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

By Tomoko Otake

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