These are sophisticated compositions that bring out the best in Land. His earthy lucid tone graces the gentle mid-tempo-ballad "Tekeuma" with Japanese harmonies, and he brings a Coltrane-like ...

In Closing Maybe now you see why jazz speaks so deeply to the Japanese spirit. Through Ma, Ichigo-Ichie, and Shu-Ha-Ri, we find in jazz something we've always known. And maybe—just maybe—that's why ...

Iconic jazz-funk vibraphonist and vocalist Roy Ayers first came to Japan in 1966 with drummer Chico Hamilton. “We got off the plane and they had a red carpet going to the terminal—and geisha girls,” ...

Ricky With FSP is a dynamic Japanese Jazz Funk Dance band formed in 2014. Known for their high-energy performances and innovative sound, the band has gained a reputation for delivering ...

'There are just so many records in Japan,' says Yusuke Ogawa, owner of Universounds, a used record shop selling jazz, soul and funk in the Western suburbs of central Tokyo. Now, with the rise of ...

Musician and journalist Katherine Whatley explores the rich and surprising history of jazz in Japan. Having been banned as ‘enemy music’ during the second world war, jazz music was ...

Over and over, I came across Ryo Fukui, the godfather of Japanese jazz piano (or at least the most famous jazz pianist outside Japan). I ordered a copy of Scenery, his 1976 debut, and from the cover ...

For 20 years, keyboardist John “Papa” Gros has exported New Orleans music to Japan, first with the late Snooks Eaglin, then with George Porter Jr. and his own band, Papa Grows Funk.