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My Journal / May-Jul 2006
Nica's Dream |
I really couldn't tell when spring ended and the summertime began this year. We have had too many hazy days and plenty of rain but it's been humid and hot as usual. Nevertheless, I am always thankful for my fair share of work and fun.
After my album recording of “NIca's Dream” came another busy phase involved with CD production. Many details need to be checked and rechecked before the final printing until it is ready to go to the record store shelves. Among them is the task of selecting photos, writing and proofreading all the necessary text and information for the album. All these takes patience and time but can also be quite enjoyable especially when it's your own project. As usual, we are very happy with the results and enjoying very good reviews.
Before the CD release I had some wonderful times at many of my gigs last spring. Here are some of the highlights:
April 12 was a session with the Tokyo Y's Club at JZ Brat Shibuya. We got together again for the first time in months. Such exquisite harmony with voice and strings on the standard tunes we played are all equally beautiful and adventurous. Our combination is really special in my opinion and it thrills me to sing with them each time.
Another memorable concert was at the Sawayaka Chiba Kenmin Plaza in Kashiwa. Entitled -Kiyoshi Koyama presents- Sing! Sing! Sing!, the show was both enjoyable and inspirational. Singing nostalgic love songs like “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing and Besame Mucho” while Manabu Oishi played on the Bosendorfer piano was so moving. It made us flow with emotion and those melodies soar. We knew we touched our audience to the core. Many took us home with them buying our CDs.
In May, a memorial session for the late pianist Takehiro Honda was held at Shinjuku Pit Inn. More than 80 musicians came to participate and paid their respects. I sang for the final slot with some of the jazz heavyweights Hideo Ichikawa on the piano, Isao Suzuki on bass,Terumasa Hino on trumpet, Masabumi Yamaguchi on saxophone and George Otsuka on drums. We had a short but very powerful set. The event was a heartwarming family affair most befitting a brother who was loved and respected by many.
This same month I also had the chance to fly to Cebu with some of my Voice students to bring in donations for needy children. We joined up with other musicians to share music and love to the cities of Dumanjug and Negros. As always, this was a very uplifting experience for all of us.
In June, I was invited to do a gig at the Royal Horse in Osaka, the first time in so many years! I used to play at this club long before my CD debut. It felt like a homecoming and it was really good to be able to play again with Osaka's best, Rikiya Higashihara on drums, Kiyoshi Takeshita on the piano and Tetsuro Aratama on bass. The audience loved the show.
Then there was the “Yamaha Jazz Festival in Hamamatsu '06”. Started in 1992, this event materialized to realize the theme of the city making which designated Hamamatsu as a center for music. “There is music in the city, music makes the city”. The city now enjoys an atmosphere where the government and the private sector are joined in theme regardless of generation.
This unique cultural event has also made efforts to promote music learning by holding seminars and workshops and is not restricted to mere jazz concerts. It now holds worldwide recognition. This year featured the Yamaha Jazz Festival All Stars Big Band with Phil Woods and I was the guest vocalist. Led and conducted by famous pianist Masahiko Satoh, most of the members were star players, the likes of Tomonao Hara on trumpet, Seiji Tada on saxophone, Masahiko Osaka on drums, Yosuke Inoue on bass and many more. Here was where I first sang my big band arrangement of Nica's Dream live! The musicians were excellent. For the encore, I also sang one of my newest arrangements of Just the Way You Are, Phil Woods and Saori Yano played saxophone on the solos. This concert enjoyed a huge success.
Then at last on June 21, my newest CD “Nica's Dream” was released. This was met with a lot of great excitement followed by the very special CD launch live held at Bb Akasaka on June 26. I was very fortunate to have been given such a rare opportunity to perform for the first time at a jazz club with none other than the Manhattan Jazz orchestra themselves!! It turned out to be one of my most unforgettable nights in my entire singing career. Recording with them was a thrill but performing live was something else. For the whole time, I was mostly overwhelmed with the blaring and powerful sounds, I had butterflies in my stomach at the beginning but I was definitely up on Cloud 9. Many friends and supporters came to watch the show which was a total success. I can't thank everyone enough.
To top all these events were my performances as guest singer for MJO's “SWING, SWING, SWING! Japan Tour 2006” on July 1 at Nasunogahara Harmony Hall in Tochigi and on July 2 at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. It was a dream performance and I truly felt so blessed. My gratitude overflows for all these graces I have received. I also enjoyed great camaraderie with the MJO members, they are all such troopers and are so much fun to be with. In my heart, I know we will all be swinging together again soon. More power to MJO!
There's a whole lot of wonderful possibilities out there waiting and it's just up to us to recognize and do something about them.
Charito
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"Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom.
If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn.
They teach you there's a boundary line to music.
But, man, there's no boundary line to art." | |
| - Charlie Parker |
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