Japanese Jazz: Inspiration, Interpretation, Innovation, and Improvisation

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From the big band sounds that swept Japan during the Great War, to the rock-star status afforded to today's greatest jazz ambassadors, Japan's fascination with jazz seems boundless. Japanese musicians often interpret western sounds and musical styles with surprising results, moving and shaping the original sounds in ways that only occur once touched by the Japanese aesthetic. And while scholars puzzle over cultural interpretation and translation, Japanese jazz musicians strive to create new music that both borrows from the greatest elements of the American tradition and moves beyond into unfamiliar creative spaces.

This evening we'll look at how jazz has moved from the background sounds of the war reconstruction to small, New York-like clubs of Tokyo, where modern Japanese musicians make innovative statements full of adventure, artistry, and spirit. We'll listen to and watch exciting and dynamic examples of modern Japanese jazz, focusing on how jazz has been adopted and transformed by musicians like Toshiko Akiyoshi, Hiromi, Stomu Takeishi, and The Ruins.

Cory Combs is a lecturer, bassist, composer and educator living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has performed with internationally known jazz artists and released several CDs. Combs has presented frequent lectures on music history, including annual appearances at the Asian Art Museum, The Jewish Community Center, Davies Symphony Hall and Herbst Theatre, among other venues. He earned his Bachelorʼs and Masterʼs degrees from the Eastman School of Music and is currently Director of Music, Enrichment and Outreach at the Nueva School, in Hillsborough, CA. He continues to be an active guest clinician and educator at colleges and high schools.