works

Hokusai Katsushika and Hiroshige Utagawa to name a few earliest examples, “Japonism” has been fascinating people around the world. It was both a source of imitation and longing for painters like Monet, Gallé, and Gogh. Even leading composers like Debussy and Puccini drew their inspiration from Japonism. 

Chikamatsu and Saikaku are my favorites. 

“Should Seijuro get killed, so should be Onatsu.” -Saikaku Ihara, from Onatsu-Seijuro.

In the rain of tears, the tragic love of Onatsu made her become a madwoman, and Saikaku sophisticatedly dropped the Doncho (a Japanese theater drop curtain), expressing it as “It’s a new river of love. Making a ship, riding their spirits; that’s so sad like bubbles of an ephemeral world.” How elegant it is, and we are left in the world of tragic love.

Jazz is a music based on our vanity and feelings just like human beings.

“First a lie gradually becomes a truth. Anyway, there is neither lie nor truth in the way of love: the truth is some kind of a connection.”

“Crying Umekawa, a plover near the river, a stream of water and the flow of her life.” -Chikamatsu Monzaemon, from The Courier of Hell.

Things never go the way she wants in her life for Umekawa, a Yūjo (Japanese prostitute). Umekawa and Jazz may share the same kind of source of emotion. 

Blues don’t have luxurious sounds like Chopin, nor the glorious timbre of angels’ trumpets praising the world like Händel.

This is the honest feeling of how people living in this world feel about the “Ukiyo” (ephemeral world) from the bottom of their heart: it’s Blues. 

“Sakura (Cherry Blossom), the last scene of this life, how regrettable to be lost this life.”

“Anyway now, gathered pieces of love, how pitiful, an uncertain life. Is it real or a dream?”

-Saikaku Ihara, from Yaoya Oshichi.

Sakura is the color of love and the rain of spring. A beautiful sakura tree is decreed by fate to die.

This is a dramatized “Japonism” in exoticism.

I practice Jazz in order to compose my works. This is so that I can write jazzy scores that are playable for musicians even outside the Jazz field while authenticating the dignity of music.

Originally, there’s no custom of scoring every single note in Jazz: it’s not necessary for the essence of Jazz. It takes years of practice to learn the scales, Blues, and groove of Jazz.

I could say that it was a Jazz-like idea, but to express the words theatrically and to show the fascination of music, I selected these works to glorify the moment. I believe music should be free. However, our devotion to music is on the premise, each categorized music has its own history. I gave everything I’ve learned until today to every single note of this score.

Jazz musicians shouldn‘t feel restricted to this score. Please showcase your honed skills. Someday, I wish to perform this work as a Jazz trio of a piano, double bass, and drums. 

The frontmen (vocals) should be able to spring up the pulses naturally when the support musicians perform with real groove: Amplify making eye contacts and pulses.

Here, I’m talking about groove like it is something that originates in Latin blood, but I think, people naturally have such power and freedom to express music with the entire body.

If you hesitate, we might lose them gradually while living our daily lives. 

All songs are connected.