Both readers of this blog may have noticed over the last few weeks that I'd been pretty excited about the (at the time) upcoming jazz fest at Ten Park on Sept. 8 and 9. I had a lot of fun at the one the year before, and I was hoping the American drummer that had come down from Tokyo in 2017 might make it back again. Although, looking at the schedule, it seemed that we'd only get the one American guest guitarist, and everyone else would be Japanese or Filipino. Still, I had my hopes. So, naturally, on Saturday it rained for most of the day, with heavy rains forecasted for the entire weekend.
It turned out that there were something like 5 satellite stages around Tenmonkan and up at Amu Plaza, along with the main stage in Ten Park, the other side of Tenmonkan, and a few bars where you had to pay to get in. I had to work from 2-4 PM on Saturday, and again from 6-8 PM. But, I got out of the apartment a little early so I could swing by the main stage to get a program book. The one Tenmonkan stage in front of 7-11 hosted something called "Record Time," which I guess is the name of a radio program. It consisted of the DJ talking while the featured record played in the background. And yes, it was as boring as it sounds. He had over 4 hours of stage time during the fest, both at Tenmonkan, and Amu Plaza. Almost no one wanted to sit down and listen to him when I was in the area.
Talking about Charlie Parker, and why he was nicknamed "Bird."
Over at Ten Park, the rain was coming down enough to justify umbrellas.
But, the music wasn't supposed to start until 3 PM. Right now, they're just doing sound checks, and the place is deserted.
As soon as my break started at 4 PM, I ran over to the park to try again. There were maybe 100-200 people then, and the rain was tapering off. The announcer told everyone to put their umbrellas away so that the people in back could see past the front row. That worked well for about 10 minutes.
I think this is the Akita Trio. Akita himself is billed strictly as a piano player, but he kind of showed off by playing trumpet at the same time. Eventually, he plays piano with his left hand, and trumpet with his right.
I tried taking video, but after 30 seconds, the rain started coming down a little heavier, and all the umbrellas went up in the front rows, completely blocking the stage. I had better things to do than stand there in the rain and just listen to stuff that I could hear better on the radio. I left and read manga in Tully's coffee shop before returning to work. I did swing by the 7-11, but the Record Talk guy was still talking.
I got out of work right at 8 PM, when a female altosax player was leading her set. The music was good and I did want to hang around for it, but I'd been told that I had to go to a restaurant for dinner a little after 8, so I kept on walking.
Sunday
The main guest for the weekend was Kurt Rosenwinkel, on Sunday. The program book showed the two backup members of his Trio, but during the fest Kurt was backed by 3 Japanese musicians that played for several other groups as well. The rain had mostly stopped, and I didn't think I'd need my umbrella. But, Kurt played just mellow, laidback jazz that I also didn't really feel like recording.
The audience loved him, though.
The drummer was enthusiastic, but I kept feeling that he never really lined up with the rhythms of the rest of the group.
Rosenwinkle was followed by a drum-off. Three of the drummers, who also backed multiple groups, took turns playing against each other. I did record most of that.
Next was the Tomonao Hara Quartet. They were ok, but Tomonao spent more time standing to the side and letting the others play than he did on trumpet.
I stuck around until 5 PM, when it started raining again. I went home to do a little work on the computer, then came back at 7 PM to catch the last of the show in front of 7-11. The Ten Park main stage closed at 6:30 PM, but 4 of the satellite stages (7-11 and Takapla in Tenmonkan, Amu Plaza, and Ginza Street near Amu Plaza) had music from 7 to 9 PM.
I kind of alternated between 7-11 and Takapla, in part because I'm not really a fan of female jazz vocalists. I found during the fest that I'm just happier listening to good instrumental work. Anyway, the backup band was the pianist-trumpeter Akita Trio.
The reason for not hanging around Takapla much was that they'd set up the stage just inside the front doors of the department store, and the audience pretty much had to stand in the doorways to listen. There was a small ring of people sitting closer in front of the band, but they blocked the doors to keep anyone else from coming in. That was ill-planned. I liked the music, though.
Hamazaki on sax.
Finally, in front of 7-11, we had a little more sax jazz before I had to leave for dinner. While the music that I did listen to was mostly good, there wasn't much that really stood out for me. The lousy weather did kind of contribute to the problem as well. Overall, I enjoyed myself, but not as much as at the fest in 2017. On the plus side, the Shiroyama Hotel had their small brew beer available - 500 yen for a regular cup, 1,000 yen (9.50 USD) for a smaller 4-cup sampler (stout, IPA, white and a red). Those were good.
Nothing else looking really promising in the near future, and I've got something of a heavy work schedule for the next 1-2 weeks. Guess I'll just keep a low profile and wait for whatever happens.
Direct youtube link, Sampler 1
Direct youtube link, Sampler 2
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