NYSQ Tour Entry #3

We just played our last gig of the first leg of the tour. Most of our remaining gigs are in and around Tokyo with tonight's gig at the jazz landmark club Body and Soul being the first of those. Last night's gig at "Lifetime" was a real treat. We got off the train at Shizuoka station and met Mr. Kubota, the owner of the club, who told us that the hotel was just around the corner, so we wheeled our things down the busy maze of convenience shops, restaurants and drug stores that surround most of the train stations in Japan. We turned into a side street where the hotel is situated. Once you are off the street, though, the scene changes dramatically. The club and hotel are part of a complex that includes a traditional japanese restaurant and a beautiful koi pond and garden where weddings are often held. (A Jewish wedding was in full swing when we got there--mazel tov and konichi wa, yudai-jin!) That's one of my favorite things about Japan--(the many Jewish weddings--no, not that)--the way you turn a corner on a crowded street filled with modern things: chain stores, electronics shops and department stores, and suddenly you are in a garden, or a shrine--something that dates back 500 years. Kyoto is the most dramatic example of this, where the modern city and the ancient sites co-mingle in a breathtaking fashion. "Lifetime" is part of a gorgeous oasis in the middle of the Shizuoka station area.

The hospitality of Mr. Kubota was really magnificent. We had a phenomenal meal, one of the best since we arrived in Japan. The club, "Lifetime", a new beautifully appointed jazz club, is a great sounding room with a Yamaha C3 that is one of the best pianos I've played in Japan--certainly the best of this tour thus far. In that kind of environment, it's easy to play music, and the band responded with two fun-filled sets. After the gig, we had a party (uchiage) with Mr. Kubota and his wife (both pianists) and some guests from the club, hanging out late into the evening, munching on fried chicken (kara-age) and chili prawns and drinking draft beer and sake.

On a less encouraging note, our level of food consumption hit a new high. In keeping with this new direction for the band, we have all adopted Sumo names: Gene Jackson is MoguTaiKai, Tim Armacost is Amakonishiki, I am Ba-kumaShoryu and Yosuke has taken on the mantle of BakaNoHana. For those of you not up on your sumo box scores, suffice it to say that we have taken significant steps toward emulating these athletic giants, at least physically. Itadakimasu!