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November 21, 2024
 

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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
Sadao Watanabe
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, usually...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2009
Junko Onishi
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a musician, 11 years between albums usually results in a drastic change in style, sometimes not for the better, or an outdated sound that attracts only die-hard fans.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 over...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 22, 2008
Tomonao Hara
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
Sergio Mendes
"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
Han Bennink
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
The Quartet
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 Brazilian...
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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