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August 15, 2024
 

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JAZZ

Musician Yuka Noda’s 1989 album “Karibu no Yume: Light Fusion Fantasy” has developed a cult following among jazz fusion fans, and the album is set to be reissued as a CD and record next week.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 19, 2024
Yuka Noda's sonic escape to a balmy yesteryear
The reissue of Noda's 1989 album “Karibu no Yume: Light Fusion Fantasy" underlines a growing interest in bubble-era nostalgia and Japan's jazz and fusion works.
While Japan is home to many jazz cafes, its summer festivals will let you listen to the music in the open air.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 9, 2024
Japan's summer offerings include jazz and classical music festivals
Not up for the rock and rap that's front and center of Japan's many summer concerts? Try a few jazz festivals instead.
“Blue Giant,” a feature-length anime movie that centers on young men in Tokyo who aspire to become jazz stars, was so successful in Japan and overseas that director Yuzuru Tachikawa was given an even bigger budget to re-edit the film for a second screening in theaters across Japan.
CULTURE / Film / CULTURE SMASH
Nov 23, 2023
Sleeper hit anime 'Blue Giant' gets an encore
The surprise success of the big-budget feature about jazz warranted a re-edited version and a second life in theaters.
Inagaki, now 90, says a pivotal trip to the United States in 1969 changed not only his fashion sense from preppy to hippie but also his approach to music.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 27, 2023
Saxophonist Jiro Inagaki’s golden age of jazz rock
“WaJazz Legends: Jiro Inagaki” highlights the musician’s eclectic oeuvre, which has transformed a sidetrack artist into a pillar of Japanese jazz.
Sosuke Ikematsu plays two pianists — or is it just one? — pursuing dreams of becoming a jazz musician in late-1980s Tokyo in “Between the White and Black Keys.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2023
'Between the White and Black Keys': Offbeat biopic will have you seeing double
Masanori Tominaga’s free-spirited film about jazz pianist Hiroshi Minami captures the vibe of 1980s Tokyo nightlife but remains mostly on the surface.
Singer and dancer Shizuko Kasagi's life is the basis for the new morning drama series on NHK.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Longform
Oct 1, 2023
When the 'Queen of Boogie' reigned in Japan
Shizuko Kasagi gave Japan a reason to rejoice again and inspired a generation of young women in the process.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 16, 2023
Memories, melancholy and all that jazz
Jazz enthusiasts James Catchpole and Philip Arneill set out to capture a time capsule of Japan's fading haunts with 'Tokyo Jazz Joints,' a photobook featuring 120 cafes and bars.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 16, 2023
‘Blue Giant’ soundtrack steals the spotlight
The manga adaptation’s score, composed by jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara, hits all the right notes even if the animation fails to strike a chord.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jul 7, 2022
Rudy Gobert joins Timberwolves on mission to win NBA title
Three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert said his mission with his new team is simple.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 1, 2022
Atsushi Murakami: ‘If Tono becomes synonymous with hops in Japan, I’ll be happy’
Atsushi Murakami has played many roles in his life, including as the creator of the Murakami Seven hop variety.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 29, 2020
Jazz center Rudy Gobert still not fully recovered from COVID-19
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the first NBA player to reportedly test positive for COVID-19 and who drew the ire of numerous people when the league initially suspended the season, says he is still not fully recovered more than three months after his original diagnosis.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 23, 2020
Not even a global pandemic can keep jazz musician Haruka Kikuchi from her trombone
Japanese jazz trombonist Haruka Kikuchi is coping with COVID-19 restrictions by streaming live performances from her home in New Orleans.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 26, 2020
Ron Carter: A record-breaking jazz legend returns to Tokyo
"I think people still want to hear the old man playing on an antique,” says Ron Carter. “And as long as they want that idea, I’m kind of available.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 12, 2019
Free jazz veteran Yosuke Yamashita marks 50 years of his trio's 'reckless' playing
The pianist brings together past members of his Yosuke Yamashita Trio for celebratory Tokyo show.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 8, 2019
Hiromi Uehara drops the band and steps out alone
The pianist returns to solo work for her latest album, 'Spectrum,' 10 years after her last solo release
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2019
Charles Lloyd: 'Looking for the one note that can say it all'
Few musicians in any era, in any genre, have had such lengthy and varied creative journeys as saxophonist Charles Lloyd. The longevity of his 60-year career is honorable enough, but the unpredictability of his path and the ebb and flow of his musical ideas make him almost unequaled, in jazz. He's like...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 20, 2019
The spirit of Satchmo survives in Tokyo
Yoshio Toyama and his wife, Keiko, have spent most of their lives as unofficial musical ambassadors between Japan and the American city of New Orleans.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jul 11, 2019
Antonio Lang enjoying Summer League coaching challenge, seeing growth of Japanese basketball
One familiar face for Japanese basketball fans is currently serving as a head coach during the ongoing NBA Summer League.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 25, 2019
Sadao Watanabe, Japan's godfather of jazz, passes on his wisdom
Before he became one of Japan's best-loved jazz musicians, saxophone player Sadao Watanabe was one of the first Japanese musicians to study in the United States. As a young man he studied at Berklee College of Music, in Boston.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

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