As a jazz musician, Japan holds a special place in my heart. With its rich musical culture, there is no shortage of venues to play in. From intimate private clubs to larger stages, the audience is diverse, but they all share a love for jazz. The next performance I was set to play was at a new venue, one that was not named in Latin characters, but the guys in my band had nicknamed it Salt Peanuts. Upon arriving, I finally understood the reasoning behind the name. It was an exciting adventure, and I couldn’t wait to play my music for the eager crowd.
As the sun began to dip behind the horizon, Satoshi pulled up to my hotel to pick me up. Our journey to the venue took us an hour, but I was eager to get to the Salt Peanuts club, where I was set to perform. I quickly stepped out of the car and made my way to the entrance, my instrument in hand.
Descending down a narrow stairway, I finally reached the club. The atmosphere was lively and the tables were scattered with – you guessed it – salt peanuts. The main wall was adorned with a breathtaking painting that added to the ambiance of the venue.
When I arrived, I was greeted by the other performers and my old friend, Yuki Nakae. I’ve always been a fan of Yuki’s sax playing – he has an incredible technical ability and is constantly evolving and finding his own unique sound. Just as we were about to start rehearsing, I realized that I had forgotten my sax strap back at the hotel. Shunichi quickly made a call to a friend who lived nearby and was able to borrow one for the night.
With the strap in hand, we began a quick run-through of the songs we would be playing as a quintet that evening. Performing with Yuki was effortless – our sounds blended together seamlessly. It was also great to catch up with Sanae Imakiire, whom I had met at the Jarasum Jazz Festival while on tour with Yuichiro’s band. The 3 photos in this post were taken by her.
