| Some thoughts that I am having these days. I started this site to introduce jazz, but I have come to realize that I am rooting for the musicians as well. |
| The first whom I consciously started supporting is probably Salena Jones. She performed in Japan this year in December. We spend time together as friends, every time she is in Japan, going out for dinner, and making the round of jazz clubs. |
| Next came the Roppongi Jazz Cruising. I participate in the planning, and have a hand in the PR as a supporter. There now is a great official web site of this event. |
| Introducing "The Lure", a chorus by experienced female professional singers, and heading the supporters of the "Starlight Junction", a young and lively female chorus group, is also Shakushigakudo's job. |
| Into all this came Craig Thompson, who is a great fan of Japan, and started to call me up around midnight almost every night even before his Japanese tour. He speaks Japanese well enough, so we would make bilingual phone calls to each other, and harmonize across the Pacific Ocean and have fun with it all. I'll be seeing him tomorrow night, and we've promised to do a duet with "Me and My Shadow". |
| When I wrote about my Jazz Teacher's Jazz Vocal School, inquiries and applications streamed in one after another. |
| We often get to know others through unexpected coincidences. The Internet has removed the difference in time and location from these meetings. Even those who have never met are able to become the best of friends. |
| In some ways, this is very scary. I have heard tales that border almost on the criminal. But, I, Shakushigakudo, believe in the "innate good" of the human nature, and as of yet, I have not been betrayed. |
| 2001.12.17 Shakushigakudo Master |
J to E translation by SKT |
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No. 1 2001.12.17