It was only after conducting a series of interviews for this mini documentary on Boston's "Japantown" that I realized the link between Japan and Berklee College of Music. Some of the people I spoke with are Berklee graduates and kept making references to how famous Berklee was back at home. I admit I was a little dubious, but after the third or fourth reference, I just had to do some research.
Apparently, there have been many amazing Japanese jazz artists who have come through the school, like Toshiko Akiyoshi and Hiromi Uehara, and more recently Tsunenori Abe of the group Syncopation (seen above). I started listening to a slew of Youtube clips, interviews (notably, a great session with Hiromi on NPR's Piano Jazz program) and got really excited about it. And was reminded of how great jazz piano and scatting can be.
Inspiration for my soundtrack! Now, if only I could master sound editing... If anyone has any experience, especially in minimizing background conversation, let me know!
No comments:
Post a Comment