Post 561: JAPAN COMES TO NEW ORLEANS

Haruka Kikuchi, the great young Japanese trombonist who settled in New Orleans in 2014, has been busy both as a record producer and as a player in the last couple of years. She has produced a series (at present five 'volumes') of recordings under the general title 'JAPAN: NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION'.

What has happened is this: several of her Japanese jazzing colleagues have visited her in New Orleans over the past months and she has taken advantage of the opportunity to get them into a New Orleans recording studio, together with some of the local musicians, in order to record a few tunes.

By November 2017, she will have released the fifth Volume in this series.

I think this fifth volume could be the loveliest, to judge from the one sample track that I have so far been able to hear. Haruka uses just a quartet (see the photo above); and what a terrific team they are! Molly Reeves (guitar and vocals) and Joshua Gouzy (bass) are a super pair to provide the chords and rhythmic backing, as well as an occasional solo chorus. And Haruka herself, with the wonderful Makiko Tamura (currently considered by many of us one of the most talented and tasteful clarinet players in the world) produce delightful interplay in the 'front line'. The tune I have been able to hear is I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now, which is played through twice as a waltz before breaking into 4/4 time. Makiko takes the lead on the melody in the first chorus. This is such a beautiful and appealing performance, that I feel sure the other three tunes on the recording will be well worth hearing too. They are Give It Up, Burgundy Street Blues - wow, I bet Makiko will be brilliant on that - and Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor - which I know Molly has often sung beautifully.

I found the necessary information on all the above at:

https://harombone.bandcamp.com/album/japan-new-orleans-collection-series-vol-5

Also already available is Volume 4, in which Haruka uses a 6-piece combination which is most unusual in having no banjo or guitar or clarinet or trumpet or saxophone. What it offers is a feast for trombone enthusiasts, as the entire 'front line' comprises three trombonists! They are Shoichi Yamada and David L. Harris as well as Haruka herself. However, they do not get in each other's way, as you might expect. The music is well arranged and disciplined. It is quite something to hear Royal Garden Blues and When My Dreamboat Comes Home played by 'massed' trombones!

Post 555: MAKIKO TAMURA AND P TIME SELECTION - GREAT JAZZ FROM JAPAN

Just watch this video of young Japanese musicians playing High Society. Wouldn't you agree that they are emerging as one of the very best traditional jazz bands in the world? CLICK HERE TO VIEW.

I have written before about the very fine jazz being played in the Tokyo area by young Japanese musicians.

Well, there has appeared a batch of videos put up on YouTube by that very generous film-maker who calls himself ragtimecave. They show a band called P Time Selection and I must recommend them to you. To watch them playing Ballin' The Jack, CLICK HERE. And for Creole Love Call, CLICK HERE.

You can also see them playing at the Sumida Street Jazz Festival in Tokyo on 19 August 2017.

Unfortunately, the Jazz Festival was outdoors on  a breezy day,  so the sound quality is not quite perfect. But you can't help admiring the balance, the skills of the individual players, the fine improvisations, and the teamwork.

According to the video-maker, the musicians are Tamura Makiko (clarinet), Kitaura Yasuri (trumpet), Mauyama Tomomitu (banjo), Imaizumi Mari (keyboard), Arai Kentaro (bass) and Miwa Tomohiko (drums) and Watanabe Taiki (trombone).

Many of us have admired the wonderful playing of Tamura Makiko. And now here she is also in the rôle of leader. What a great band she has assembled! Her own playing throughout is a joy. You could start with their fine performance of Careless Love. CLICK HERE.

For a contrast of tempo, try this cracking performance of Weary Blues: CLICK HERE.

In the other P Time Selection videos, you will find such tunes as Panama and a very spirited version of Jesus on the Main Line. There is even Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans? with a very sweet vocal from Tamura.
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And now - in June 2018 - I have received the email below from Dag Ekholm in Sweden. I agree with what he says: Tamura Makiko's band has reached a sensational new level, probably as good as anything you will find anywhere. Watch their version of West End Blues, filmed on 19 May 2018, by the excellent Ragtimecave: CLICK HERE.

The musicians, we are told, are:
Tamura Makiko, clarinet
Kanno Atushi, trumpet
Watanabe Taiki, trombone
Imaizumi Mari, piano
Arai Kentaro, bass
Miwa Tomohiko, drums
Maruyama Tomomitu, banjo

Dag's email:

I have long considered Makiko Tamura one of the best New Orleans jazz clarinetists in the world today. I am also a great fan of her band, P-Time Selection, an excellent band with all very talented and skilled musicians, in my opinion.

There were several wonderful recordings of P-Time Selection last year, 2017, e.g. Feb 17, May 20, Aug 19 and Sep 18, as you have also mentioned in your blog.

Makiko made only three videos (and a few audios) during her visit to New Orleans in Oct 2017, all of them fantastic, one with Shotgun Jazz Band. Then she recorded a wonderful and highly inspired ”Tamura Makiko session” in November with a smaller group

But after that not so much happened during the winter – there were a few sessions with PTS which I find good but slightly less interesting. So I began to wonder if they were losing momentum.

But then it explodes with the session May 19, recently. I was completely stunned and speechless. It is so excellent!! I think it is a breakthrough, that the band has taken a leap to a completely new level.

I am no musician, only a listener and fan of N.O. music, and I can not analyze it. But I hear the new sound, the brilliant ensemble play and inspired solos by all of the members. The trumpet player is new and very skilled. Mari on piano is better than ever before. Furthermore they seem very happy. It really sounds as something new and great.

Post 536: HARUKA KIKUCHI BACK IN TOKYO

What a summer Haruka Kikuchi has been enjoying! She was in Italy with The Shake 'Em Up Jazz Band for the Umbria Jazz Festival, where they played a series of performances. Several very good videos from those have appeared on YouTube.

And then she spent some time on a trip back home to Japan, where she met up again with her old friends - that very fine band The New Orleans Jazz Hounds.

The generous video-maker codenamed ragtimecave seems to have filmed almost an entire gig. Yes, there's a whole batch of glorious videos. They play storming versions of standards such as Clarinet Marmalade, Somebody Else Is Taking My Place, Savoy Blues, and Down in Honky Tonk Town. One of my favourites is an eight-minute version of Marie, in which Haruka is joined by two other excellent trombonists, making a 'front line' entirely of trombones. Each takes a couple of solo choruses, with the other two providing a tasteful riffing backing to the second chorus. They also play an exciting 'front line only' chorus. Watch it by clicking here.

So we get to see Haruka, with the brilliant clarinet star Tamura Makiko, both in their kimonos. Wonderful! Watch them on Buddy Bolden's Blues by clicking here.

I hear that Tamura Makiko is likely to be visiting New Orleans for a holiday in October. Haruka intends to make some recordings with her.

As regular readers will know, Haruka is my unofficial adopted grand-daughter! I have so much enjoyed meeting her in New Orleans. Here we are earlier this year.

Post 512: MAKIKO TAMURA AT THE TOP

Many of us have enjoyed over recent years the videos uploaded to YouTube by ragtimecave. This gentleman has recorded the wonderful jazz scene in Japan, where so many fine young players have come through the system of jazz bands in high schools and jazz at university.

One particular young star whose rapid progress we have followed with immense pleasure has been the clarinet player Makiko Tamura. She has appeared in dozens of videos with various combinations of fellow musicians.

Her playing has always been tasteful and technically very good. But I think that in 2017 Makiko Tamura has emerged as a big star, with leadership qualities as well as immense talent.

Have a look at the video filmed in Tokyo on 20 May, 2017, in which she plays After You've Gone. I find myself responding with tears of joy to what I am hearing. What a privilege it is for me to have lived long enough to hear this young musician playing so brilliantly.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT.
And the other members of the band are very good too.

Tamura begins by playing the song (including the Verse) right through at a gentle pace. Then she doubles the tempo and plays three increasingly storming Choruses with immense fluency. Later, after fine contributions from other members of the band, she returns to trade fours with the banjo player. There is a thrilling ensemble Chorus to bring the piece to an end.

You can also enjoy a thrilling performance of Clarinet Marmalade by Makiko Tamura sitting in with The Shotgun Jazz Band when she visited New Orleans in October 2017:
CLICK HERE.

I hope you enjoy the performances as much as I have.

Post 502: 'PANAMA' IN JAPAN

Today I would like to recommend to you a video of a band playing that old favourite Panama.

You can watch it here (click on):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1oxk0_mxBg

Why do I like this particular video?

1. Because is was filmed by that fine recorder of the Japanese jazz scene codenamed ragtimecave. He succeeds in getting super close-ups of musicians and he also achieves videos of high sound quality.

2. Because it demonstrates yet again what a terrific traditional jazz scene there is in Japan; and how well the Japanese succeed in bringing on young players.

3. Because this is in many ways an exemplary performance of Panama. Note the teamwork and also the well-judged but not-too-loud driving power of the rhythm players.

It could be argued that this performance goes on for too long. Was it really necessary for every member of the seven-piece band to take solo choruses on the final theme? Perhaps not. But I will grant them that little self-indulgence in a performance of such creativity and energy.

By the way, Panama Rag (originally entitled Panama, A Characteristic Novelty) is a standard in the repertoire of traditional jazz bands. It dates back almost 110 years, having been written by William H. Tyers in 1911. Tyers, born in Virginia, the son of former slaves, lived from 1870 to 1924. The piece of music possibly has nothing to do with the country Panama or the Panama Canal which was under construction at the time: it is said by at least one source to have been named in honour of Aida Overton Walker and Her Panama Girls - a music hall act. Whatever the truth, it is a great number and can sound good no matter at what tempo you take it. It can be strenuous to play, especially for the trumpeter, as there are five themes - all of which are usually repeated.

Post 470: THE YOUNG JAPANESE KEEP OUR MUSIC ALIVE

I have written before about the great achievements of young musicians in Japan who are mastering traditional jazz, keeping the music alive and perpetuating it for future generations. About 200 videos of those young Japanese bands uploaded on YouTube by ragtimecave have given great pleasure, as many of you have written to tell me.

In December 2016, young Japanese players in various combinations played our music at a concert - the 55th Recital of the Waseda University New Orleans Jazz Club, through whose ranks a number of great musicians have passed over the decades.

There was some storming playing. Have a look, for example, at this performance of Wolverine Blues:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5bK7lFNYVA
What is very clear is that learning to play traditional jazz has been a serious part of the curriculum in some Japanese high schools. Here's a typical scene from about the year 2004:

One of the greatest of the young musicians (much loved, I know, by many of you) is the clarinet player Makiko Tamura. You can hear her in two videos performing Over the Waves:
(1) with the wonderful Natsuko Furukawa on keyboard here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8epDHtq1uRY
(2) with The New Orleans Jazz Hounds here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBuXLwcnvvg
And there is some fine playing in this recent video, including an exciting Viper Mad in Ab. You may note the impressive and ubiquitous Kensuke Shintani on clarinet and Naho Ishimura on trumpet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2HI4IQUXHk

Have a look at these two videos for some delightful surprises:
1. A well-drilled high school band plays 'Who Stole My Heart Away?' at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QvYkU8cf68
The young ladies who sing in harmony are Makiko Tamura and Airi Shishido.
2. A 'Big Band' plays 'Stardust' at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUsxzkDKLNE

If you find these interesting, you will also be able to locate more videos from similar sources. For example, what about this extraordinary performance of  'Weatherbird Rag'?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ousAaG9gI

And don't forget the wonderful Japanese banjo player, Ken Aoki, who was to be seen playing with the youngsters in the Who Stole My Heart Away? video (above). You may also admire his talents by watching this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j714N05_SeQ
There are several more for you to explore on YouTube.