Dear Mr. Tsukamoto
I am sorry it has taken so long for me to thank you for the fine time I
had with you and your band.
As soon as I got home I had much work to do
organizing my own 17 piece band that I am taking to a jazz festival in
Alaska next week.
In the last few days I have been able to put my
thoughts together about my trip to Japan, and I thought you and your
band members would enjoy hearing them.
Thank you all again foreverything that you did, I had a wonderful time.
Feel free to use the following report on your web site or any way that you like.
I am also
sending this to Mr. Ikumi.
My Trip to Japan:
I have just returned from my first trip to Japan, a country I have
always wanted to see.
I was supposed to visit as a member of the
original Toshiko Akiyoshi band in 1976.
Scheduling problems caused me to miss that trip and it took 24 years for me to fulfill my dream.
Yosuke Kurasaka, president of World Projects Japan, arranged for me to
appear as the trombone soloist in a series of big band concerts in a
number of different cities during Golden Week.
I sent ten arrangements
that feature me from my own library and each of the bands prepared a
concert program using these selections and some of there own material.
A number of the concerts featured a small group setting as well.
Arriving in Osaka in the late afternoon of Friday, April 28, I was able
to get a night's rest and the next morning Mr. Kurasaka and I boarded a
bus for the city of Tokushima on Shikoku Island.
Mr. Kurasaka or
Yosuke, as we Americans call him, proved to be a superb guide and
companion.
All of the arrangements were in order and traveling was a
delight.
I was particularly pleased to find that we were traveling by
bus and train.
I love to look out the window at the sights as they go
by.
The new bridge to Shikoku island was very impressive.
Upon arriving in Tokushima we made our way to the rehearsal site.
To my
pleasant surprise the Sunnyside Jazz Orchestra had their own rehearsal
room complete with their name on the door.
I had been told that things
in Japan would be smaller than in the U.S. but this room was quite
large, perfect for a big band.
Having just put together my own big band
in Los Angeles for a jazz festival in Juneau Alaska,
I realize how
precious rehearsal space is.
At our musicians union in Los Angeles we
have very tiny rooms for rehearsing.
At one third the size of the
Sunnyside room it gets pretty loud when a big band gets rolling.
Led by Ikuo Hayashi, The Sunnyside Jazz Orchestra had played at the 1999
Monterey Jazz Festival,
so I wasn't worried, but I really had no idea
what to expect.
However I soon found out that it was going to be
great.
I was to play a few numbers each with a trio and quartet made up
of orchestra members and then play some of the arrangements that I had
sent with the full orchestra.
The small groups proved to be very good
and well prepared.
Strong Rhythm sections and a nice tenor sax soloist
made everything easy.
I had previously sent a list of tunes I like to
play, and one of the piano players had taken the standard `It's You Or
No One` and put together a very fine arrangement.
Rhythmically
exciting with an interesting reharmonization, it showed real
sophistication.
It was so good that I asked him if I might have a copy
of it to play with my own group in the U.S.
The full band was very well prepared and played well.
When I originally
sent the arrangements, Mr. Kurasaka had asked if I had any recordings of
them to help the bands with interpretation.
I did not have such
recordings.
In fact one of the pieces was written especially for the
tour and had not been played before.
I had wondered if this might
present a problem for the bands but it was no problem at all.
Throughout the tour I found that all the bands interpreted the music
very well.
I had very little to add to the way the bands played, so the
rehearsals were quite easy and quick.
The performance was outdoors in the center of the city, which had come
to life for the Hana Hura Festival.
With the performers on a barge in
the river and the audience on shore it was a beautiful setting.
The
sound was good and the audience very warm and attentive.
I enjoyed the
performance and felt that the band played very well.
We followed a
very good vocal group singing in the style of the `Back Street Boys` and
I thought all of the young people would leave when they finished.
It
was nice to see how many of them stayed to hear us.
After the concert we all went to the Jazz Cabin 88, a local jazz club
and finished the evening in fine style.
Hearing of my special interest
in fishing and seafood, Mr. Hayashi even had some special local style
sushi prepared for me.
A real treat. Later a number of the band
members and I played some tunes in a fun jam session that sent me to bed
with a warm feeling and many new friends.
Sunday, April 30, found us on our way back to Osaka, where we checked
into our hotel and then upon meeting some of the musicians of the Global
Jazz Orchestra, headed back down the road, to Kobe, about an hour away.
Here at the Kobe Satin Doll Jazz Club I met all the members of the band
that I would play with for the next two nights.
Having played at the
Monterey Jazz Festival in 1994 and 1998, the Global Jazz Orchestra was
particularly special in that every section contained many fine soloists,
some of them truly outstanding, and a lead trumpet player who would be
welcome on any band that I have ever played on.
Needless to say we had
a good time.
At the end of one of my arrangements the tenor soloist and
I play cadenzas and then joined together in some free improvisation.
This particular player and I had a real meeting of the minds which I
greatly enjoyed.
Many of the other soloists were equally impressive.
Band leader Akira Nonomura led the band from the trumpet section.
The audience was nice and very receptive but small.
Once again it
showed that even with good promotion it is often hard to get an audience
for jazz.
Here was a very nice club and an excellent band in concert.
Still one never knows if the people will show.
I felt sorry for the
club and the band that I had not drawn more people.
We had a wonderful
time anyway and it was a great tuneup for the next night in Osaka.
The next day, Monday, May 1, after a sound check and a fine sushi
dinner, compliments of Mr. Nonomura, we were ready for our sets at the
Royal Horse Jazz Club.
A beautiful club that has been Osaka's jazz
mecca for many years, the Royal Horse had the ambiance that is very
conducive to good jazz.
Some of my friends pictures were on the walls
and I felt right at home.
I like hearing jazz in a club setting and I
like playing in one for the same reasons.
Jazz started in clubs and
there is a certain relaxed feeling that makes you feel like stretching
out and taking chances that make for a special performance.
The Global
Jazz Orchestra fits into this setting well.
The players know how to
have a good time and there is a youthful exuberance in their
performance.
The audience was very receptive and it was a musically
rewarding evening.
On Tuesday morning we took the train across country past Kyoto and lake
Biwa to the other coast and the city of Kanazawa.
It was again nice to
see more of the countryside and the train ride was a pleasure.
On a
walk around town Mr. Kurasaka and I had time to see the beautiful
garden on the hill near the castle ruins.
The city seemed very
comfortable and pleasant.
At the appointed hour we met the musicians at the Mokkiriya Jazz Club.
This was the smallest and one of the nicest jazz clubs I have ever been
in.
The intimate wood interior made for very good acoustics and the
stage felt great; perfect for what we were about.
Among the many
pictures of artists who had appeared at the club, I saw a picture of
pianist Ross Tompkins on the wall.
We worked together daily for twenty
years on the Tonight Show Band.
This was to be sextet night and I had
sent some arrangements ahead not knowing what to expect.
It turned out
that all the players were real jazz musicians and we could have played
just about anything.
Led by the bassist Katsuyuki Okamoto, the five
musicians had prepared the music very well.
In retrospect I should have
sent much harder tunes, the players were that good.
A mystery trombone
player (Maki) was also to play with me.
He chose not to rehearse just
wanting to wing it on stage.
He turned out to be a very fine player and
we had a lot of fun playing together.
There is a university in Kanazawa
and many young trombone players were in the audience.
It would have
been nice to have had more time here to hear them play and possibly work
with them.
After we finished, many people stayed in the club for food,
drinks and trombone talk; a good time.
I got the impression that there
are many fine musicians in the Kanazawa area.
The next morning (Wednesday, May 3) my new trombone playing friend,
Maki, picked us up in his car and we drove to Takaoka.
This was an
interesting journey because the area was more rural and had the houses
spread out in the country, often surrounded by trees, more like we what
see in the farm country of America.
Of course with rice fields instead
of wheat fields.
And the traditional Japanese architecture giving it a
look that I had seen in pictures but now was seeing in person.
It was
very pleasing.
Katsyuki Okamoto, the bassist from the night before was also the leader
of the Field Holler Jazz Orchestra, which I was to play with today.
The
band had played at the 1993 and 1995 Monterey Jazz Festivals and at the
Montreux Jazz Festival in 1999.
Mr. Okamoto had recently bought a house
outside of the city which has a large building, that was formerly a
factory, attached to it.
He calls it Jazz Factory Scat. This is where
we were to put on our concert and It turned out to be perfect.
We had a
very nice audience, some of whom had come quite a distance, evidence of
very effective promotion.
As I expected, after playing with some of the band members the night
before, the band was very good and also well prepared.
A strong
ensemble, good rhythm section, a fine lead trumpet player, and very good
soloists in every section.
Mr. Okamoto is a quiet man but as he is
playing behind you on the bass, and he hears you playing well, he will
acknowledge it and egg you on with encouragement..
I like that, it makes
me dig deeper and play at my best.
After the concert, which was in the afternoon, the whole band moved into
a hot spring resort hotel for a banquet and the baths.
I have always
wanted to partake in the traditional Japanese bath and it lived up to my
expectations.
I slept very well that night.
After a fine breakfast with some of the band members, Mr. Kurasaka and
I took the train to Nagoya.
Here we were to meet with the members of
the Rare Sounds Jazz Orchestra.
This band had played at the 1997
Monterey Jazz Festival.
The rehearsal took place at the concert site,
which was a state of the art concert hall, the Nagoya City Art Creation
Center.
Very beautiful, with excellent equipment and a very helpful
stage crew.
Everyone worked together to make things very comfortable.
Once again the band was well prepared.
The lead trumpet met with me
before the rehearsal to ask how I planned to do each piece and we sailed
through the rehearsal.
Throughout this trip I have been so impressed
with the level of preparation of each band.
They have shown a thorough
understanding of the arrangements and any problems have been quickly
solved.
Of course at this point I must emphasize the great help of my
host, Yosuke Kurasaka .
In addition to keeping every part of the tour on
track, he stood at my side during the rehearsals and his interpreting
skills kept everything running smoothly.
Of course it is essential that
the interpreter at a rehearsal be familiar with music and Mr. Kurasaka
is a former trumpet player.
Band leader Masao Nishkawa hosted the concert that evening which went
very well, with nice work by all the sections.
A strong drummer kept
things rolling.
I was pleased to see the fine trombone section featured
on a nice piece called `Bone Heads.` And on an up tempo version of T.
Monk's `Rhythmining` one of the trombone soloists, who played very
well, brought down the house when he finished his solo by singing scat.
That night we all met at a restaurant which featured one of my favorite
dishes, chicken wings, I didn't know it was a Nagoya specialty.
They
were wonderful and I'm embarrassed to say how many I ate.
I would love
to know the recipe.
During the evening different members of the band
and the crew got up to offer a critique of the performance.
I too, was
asked to speak and said that I thought everyone had done very well, that
we had grown with the experience and that next time it would be even
better.
That's the thing with jazz.
It never stands still, there are
always new notes to play.
The next day, Friday, May 5, we took the Bullet Train to Shizuoka.
Of
course I had been waiting for a ride on the Bullet Train and it was
everything I expected and more.
My hobby is cooking, with a special
interest in seafood, and I have a boat in Alaska which I use every
summer for fishing trips.
Of course no one on earth values fine seafood
more than the people of Japan so I was very pleased to hear that I would
be able to visit a fishing port and a fish market.
Upon our arrival in
Shizuoka, we immediately left for the nearby town of Yaizu, an
important fishing port.
We were met there by the outgoing leader of the
Swing Herd Jazz Orchestra, Kiyotomo Ikumi who took us to a huge fish
market and to the fishing port itself to look at the boats.
This is
what I had been waiting for and it was fascinating.
No American could
imagine that many kinds of fish or that many different ways to prepare
fish.
The market was a wonderland of seafood, all beautifully laid out
and as fresh as physically possible.
I had a great time trying to
identify the different species but I found myself pretty limited.
We
even had some black ice cream made with squid ink.
As a boat owner I am
always interested in looking at boats and harbors, so this was a treat
as well.
We finished the tour with Mr. Ikumi taking us to lunch at a
superb restaurant in the area.
One of the finest meals I've ever had.
The freshest sashimi and a number of other fish courses, delightfully
served in our own private tatami room.
Mr. Ikumi is a Buddhist monk and invited us to visit his temple.
Parts
of the building are over 100 years old and the site dates back more than
600 years.
We also were able to visit his home which was adjacent to
the temple, a beautiful traditional house and garden.
His wife
graciously served us very special tea and we hated to leave.
It was time to get to work.
We made our way to another wonderful
concert hall.
The Media Hall in Shizuoka.
This hall was the perfect
size for a jazz concert and had very nice natural acoustics.
Right away
I was very pleased with the sound I was hearing and I knew things would
be good.
The Swing Herd Jazz Orchestra now led by Ikuo Tsukamoto was
well prepared just as all the previous bands had been.
This was to be
my last concert of the tour, so there was a special sense of
importance.
We went through the music getting the balance just right
and checking tempos and the order of solos and that was it.
Way too
easy.
Once again the level of preparation impressed me.
The Concert
Master had done a fine job.
Everything went off without a hitch.
I
really enjoyed myself and I felt good about the playing and I know the
band did too.
I think we all played over our heads that night.
What a
great way to end a tour.
That night we all got together at a restaurant and had a great time
eating, drinking and talking about music, fishing and all of the things
we had in common.
I also had some very good sake.
I wish I knew what
kind it was.
My only regret was that we didn't have more time together.
The concerts were over but there were still some workshops to do at two
universities and one at a music store in Tokyo.
So in the morning we
got on the Bullet Train to Tokyo.
This was Saturday May 6 and I was the guest of Yoshihiko Katori and
Osamu Matsumoto at Senoku Gakuen College.
I first met with two trombone
students and found them to be in the hands of a very fine teacher.
There was little that they had been taught that I didn't agree with so
we got right into playing the music that I had sent.
We worked on some
things that are unique to the trombone and then got the whole band
together.
There were many talented students in the group and it was a
pleasure to work with them.
I worked on things that I think are
important in a big band such as accents, energy, dynamics and time.
Here again I most acknowledge the wonderful interpreting by Mr.
Kurasaka.
As I rehearse a band I start talking pretty fast , trying to
say things as the band is playing that might help them interpret the
music.
As one can imagine, this is a prodigious job for an interpreter
but Mr. Kurasaka never missed a beat.
We also talked about improvisation
and it's paramount importance in jazz.
At this point we all took turns
playing jazz solos and I was very impressed with that aspect of their
playing.
They had certainly been led in the right direction here.
All
of the players had a concept of jazz improvisation.
In the U.S.
although many of the bands sound very strong, it has not been my
experience to find all of the members of a band working on
improvisation.
Needless to say this made an impression on me.
On Sunday, May 7, I had the pleasure of doing a trombone workshop for
the Bach instrument company in the fine facilities of the Actus Store in
Shibuya-ku.
Those in attendance were mostly current students and
graduates of the International Christian University in Tokyo.
We
covered trombone technique in general and as it applies to jazz in
particular.
As all of the students spoke English, I was able to work
without an interpreter.
As I was still having difficulty with the most
basic greetings in Japanese, I was of course very impressed with their
linguistic prowess.
On Monday, May 8, we were taken by car to the campus of the
International Christian University to do a workshop with their jazz band
called the Modern Music Society.
Led by a fine lead trumpet player, Makoto Ishii, the band played a
number of pieces for me.
Each piece was impeccably played at a
blistering tempo, demonstrating great virtuosity.
The first piece was
one that I knew well and have played many times and I don't think I've
heard played any better.
The same with the next one.
I said that there
was little that I could add.
I was starting to feel pretty useless.
Only when I asked them to play a slower
piece was I able to find some
stylistic things to work on.
Mr. Ishii explained that they pursued the
extreme up tempo pieces because of the competitions that the band
entered where you need to show your virtuosity, and they did this
brilliantly.
As I thought about this later, however, I think that if I
were judging such a competition I would insist that all bands play
something slow.
The slow piece is often more difficult than the fast
one, especially for younger players, it certainly exposes any stylistic
flaws and it's an important part of the idiom.
To be forced to play fast
to win seems to me to miss an important part of the music.
All of this
aside the band sounded excellent and Mr. Ishii obviously is doing a fine
job.
They also had an exciting tenor saxophone soloist who sounded very
good.
After the workshop we were invited to Mr. Ishii's parents home where his
mother presented a banquet for us and the band members.
She is an
excellent baker and cook.
We had a great time eating, talking, and
listening to some Mr. Ishii's father's fine record collection.
It was a
great treat for me to be entertained in someone's home.
The next day was off and Mr. Ishii and some of the students were kind
enough to take me sightseeing in Tokyo.
We had a fine time and ended up
at a huge Tower record store, prowling the jazz section.
Again I wish I
had had more time.
In summation I feel that the jazz tradition is very much alive in
Japan.
In many ways healthier than in the U.S.
In the U.S. we used to
feel that we were the only ones who could play jazz.
If that was true
at one time it is no longer true.
I heard many fine players on this
trip and many of the younger ones are much further along in their
development than I was at their age.
Each of these bands has it's own personality.
Some have a wide range of
ages in the band, while others seem to be more the same age, having come
up together.
Some members spoke of this situation wondering if as
members get older and become occupied with other things they can keep
the band vital and active. I know that when I came up through the
ranks, the best experience for me was to play with older players.
It is
a good thing to have people of different ages together in a group.
The
young people supply energy and new ideas and the older players supply
maturity and and knowledge of style.
The best way to learn how to play
is to play alongside someone who is more experienced than you are.
It
is more natural process than having a teacher tell you what to do.
And
the reward a more mature player gets from helping an enthusiastic young
player develop is hard to match.
I would encourage each band to reach
out, as some have already done to the young people around them.
Of
course this is easier said than done, and it is easier if there is a
college nearby that is putting out students looking for bands to play
on.
It would be helpful if groups like the International Association of Jazz
Educators would pursue more of a presence in Japan.
They are in the
business of creating an environment for jazz, but of course they will
have to come half way and make an effort to deal with the language
difference.
I promised myself years ago that I would continue to play as long as it
was fun.
This tour reinforced that vow.
I was inspired by the hard
work by everyone and I had a wonderful time meeting and playing with
all the fine players who are doing this because they love it.
We are
all in this together and I look forward to the next time when I can see
all my new friends again.
I would like to sincerely thank everyone who was involved in this tour.
I couldn't have asked for a finer experience.
Bruce Paulson
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