My good friend Rob Bargad, who also happens to be one of the greatest pianists I know, will be returning to Japan in August on a tour with guitarist Tsutomu Nakai (from Kyoto but now living in New York.) We will play one show together in Tokyo- Thursday, August 27 we will be at Klavier, which is a very comfortable room right in front of Asagaya station (JR Chuo line). Don't miss this chance to see one of the most swinging pianists alive! (By the way, Rob is living in Austria now so I am hoping to see him this month when I am closeby in Bratislava.)
Looking forward to my first trip overseas in four years this month when I head to Slovakia and the Czech Republic for just less than a month. The occasion is the shooting of a film in which I will mark my Japanese acting debut, as well as my first appearance on cymbals. Life is always full of surprises. We will go first to Vienna, and then be shooting in Bratislava, Brno, and Prague. I am a big fan of Milan Kundera so I will be particulary excited to see Prague. The movie? It's about a young Japanese conductor who gets a job with an old Parisian orchestra. Unfortunately we don't get to go to France, but I am sure we will have a good time (and a lot of good beer, I think). We began shooting in Tokyo at the end of May. It is of course hard work and long hours, but the cast and crew are all really cool and it's a nice vibe on the set. A couple of my comrades from Baruto are on the gig, as well as a violinist I worked with this winter on a TV commercial for Daihatsu with Hiro Mizushima.
Other good news: the Bando Bando 1st CD is hot off the presses. Recorded at Studio Tourian, it features all exciting original compositions of bandleader/bandoneonist Kaori Okubo. Pianist Rikiya Nakamura, percussionist Kenji Yoshiura, and yours truly all get lots of time to speak their part as well. But above all it is a band project, and the Gestalt Principle is much in order. Don't miss the CD release live at Rakuya on June 8!
The big disappointment this month is the cancellation of a concert with trombone virtuoso Chris Washburne. We played in Tokyo last year when he was here with a group from Carnegie Hall. I have been listening to the great CD he gave me, and was totally excited to play together again. But in fears of the swine flu, the temple where we were supposed to play cancelled the concert.
