AprilCadence2013

Short Takes Japan: Kansai
As any veteran jazz junkie knows, it’s always a treat when a celebrity
shows up unexpectedly to jam with a local act. Such was the case on 2/22
when pianist Makoto Ozone dropped by kobe’s Satin Doll. Not there to play,
Makoto was nonetheless enticed into lending his exquisite touch to accompany
singer Akina Miyata on one number. Although based in Tokyo, Ozone was
born in kobe where he is the best-known of a venerable musical family. His
brother Hiroshi plays tenor sax while his father Minoru is one of the city’s leading
keyboard (p/org) artists. Ozone’s other kansai appearances in February
included two nights (5th and 6th) of piano duos with Ellis Marsalis at Billboard
Live in Osaka. On the 16th he performed an evening of classical music with
the kyoto Symphony Orchestra at kyoto Concert Hall; while on the 23rd he
returned to jazz with Eijiro Nakagawa, one of Japan’s top trombonists, at the
Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Nishinomiya (between kobe and Osaka).
One of the few kansai clubs to venture beyond the traditional to modern jazz
spectrum is kobe’s Big Apple, located in the city’s downtown kitano district.
This cramped basement room offers some of the most adventurous music heard
around here, and is home base for pianist/composer Satoko Fujii whenever she’s
in town as she was on 2/19 for a performance of her Orchestra kobe, featuring
husband Natsuki Tamura (t) and a dozen or so of the area’s most skilled postmodern
performers. Satoko did not play, instead conducting the band through
several of her well-conceived charts. Tamura also conducted some of his works,
including a couple which incorporated humorous vocal exchanges into the
compositions. Throughout the evening, the band members were engaged but
loose, communicating their obvious enjoyment of the proceedings to a small
audience. Once again Fujii and Tamura demonstrated how adept they are at
coaxing excellent work from their players. Serious music, yes, but lots of fun
nonetheless. Takumi Seino—energetic guitarist on the Fujii date—works
regularly at Big Apple in a variety of settings. On 2/1 he appeared with the
quartet “Words of Forest,” featuring Tsutomu Takei (ss/ts), Osamu Mihara
(b) and Taro Morimoto (d). On the 14th, he performed a guitar duo with Goh
Kurosawa, and on the 23rd in a 3 guitar ensemble. “Words of Forest” return
on 4/16 with guest Yusuke Imanishi (tb). As mentioned in this column before,
Japan’s grand old master of swing, Eiji Kitamura (cl), suffered a stroke last year
which took him off the scene for awhile. Happily for his many Kansai fans,
kitamura is back and coming over from Tokyo for his once-monthly Royal
Horse (Osaka) gig with his Osaka trio. Recent and upcoming Royal Horse dates
are 2/22, 3/29 and 4/26. kitamura turns 83 this April, and apart from his brief
stroke-induced sabbatical, has not slowed down since the 50’s when Benny
Goodman invited him to “take another chorus” during a jam session in Tokyo.
Also at Royal Horse on 3/27 are the popular Global Jazz Orchestra with special
guest Francisco Torres (tb) of Poncho Sanchez fame. On 3/28, transplanted New
Yorker Paul Fleisher (ts) plays Jazz on Top, Act III (another dedicated Osaka jazz
53 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013