ID:7590
Niseko-Rossy Pi-Pikoe Review @ Tokyo
by Niseko-Rossy Pi-Pikoe
[850279hit]
■All About Jazz で益子博之が記事に！ Meet Hiroyuki Masuko
It wasn't one thing. I was a British rock fan in my teens. But after post-punk and New Wave, unfortunately, there was only "arena rock" or "stadium rock" on MTV. I was looking for more exciting music. Then I discovered the Japanese band, Mariah, led by Yasuaki Shimizu; the band also included jazz musicians, and I began listening to their jazz recordings as well.
Then in college I played electric bass. I was in the rock society, and the jazz society's room was next to ours. One of the jazz society members, who played alto saxophone, lived next to one of my band mates, and we started a band together. After graduation, he became a professional tenor saxophonist. We also exchanged favorite albums with each other, and I got to listen to Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, et al. I was very impressed that they were more intelligent and technically advanced than the prog rock musicians I'd been listening to.
How long have you been going out to hear live music?
I was not sociable in my youth, so I didn't want to go out to hear live music. And I hated flying, and could not speak English well, so I'd been unable to go abroad. All that changed in June 2002. My girlfriend at that time really wanted to visit New York at any cost, and would not yield, so I had no choice but to obey.
When we were walking along Seventh Avenue, we saw a banner outside Carnegie Hall that said: "Joao Gilberto, the first New York show in 30 years!" It felt like my destiny, and I ran into the box office. The only the seats left were on the far right in the front row, but I bought tickets immediately.
There are no words to express how moved I was by his music. And since I thought I would never come back to New York again, I made sure to go to the Village Vanguard as well.
Kurt Rosenwinkel's Quartet with Ethan Iverson, Ben Street, and Jeff Ballard was there. Not only did I not know them at all, I never heard of jazz like that until then. So I decided to visit New York every year, just to hear live music. And I began to hear live music frequently in Tokyo, too.
How often do you go out to hear live music?
Two or three times a month in Tokyo. Three or four concerts a night when I'm in New York. If in doubt, please take a look at my Facebook.
What is it about live music that makes it so special for you?
Witnessing the moment music is born. Each one of them is once-in-a-lifetime experience.
What are the elements of an amazing concert?
Good musicians, good audience, welcoming staff, and no distractions to prevent me from concentrating on the music.
What is the most trouble you've gone to, or the farthest you've traveled, to get to a jazz performance?
Every time I go to New York.
Is there one concert that got away that you still regret having missed?
In June 2006, my flight to New York was delayed five hours. Even though I went straight to Tonic by taxi from Newark, without checking in at the hotel, I could not make it in time for the concert of Jim Black's AlasNoAxis. Since then, I've never had another chance to hear AlasNoAxis play.
If you could go back in time and hear one of the jazz legends perform live, who would it be?
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