Akiyoshi disbands her band

[White Lightning]

Jazz great Akiyoshi disbands her band

Hiroko Kono / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

Renowned jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi will dissolve her Jazz Orchestra after conducting and writing original pieces for it for 30 years.

Akiyoshi, who lives in the United States, said she wanted to quit the band so she could spend more time on refining her piano skills.

"There is a saying that a fisherman begins with a goby and ends with a goby. In the same way, I'd like to return to my roots to concentrate on the piano," Akiyoshi said. "In the last 30 years, all my time and energy have been spent on writing."

She said her move into performing her own work happened quite naturally.

She had moved to Los Angeles with her husband, saxophone player Lew Tabackin, on account of his work. There, she met fellow jazz musicians at rehearsal studios owned by a musicians association that charged only 50 cents an hour for their use.

The musicians she became acquainted with began playing some of her music, and that led to the formation of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra in 1973.

When asked which three of her compositions in the last 30 years were her best, she replied without pausing that they were "Kogun," "Minamata" and "Hiroshima: Rising From the Abyss." The first was dedicated to Hiroo Onoda, a former Imperial Japanese Army soldier who survived alone on an island in the Philippines for 30 years after the end of World War II.

All three pieces evoke Japanese culture and moods and social themes like war and pollution in thick, complex sounds. Akiyoshi's band often performed "Hope," the last suite of "Hiroshima," after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, to tell people "not to give up and move toward a world without war."

At a live recording for a New York radio station performed Oct. 13 at New York's landmark jazz club Birdland, Akiyoshi was introduced by the host as an artist who had fused sounds of the East and West into a straight-up jazz sound.

At the end of the recording, she performed a wonderful, adventurous piano solo, at the behest of the host. The Jazz Quartet performed at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 17. Their last gig at Birdland, where they have been performing every Monday for the last five years, will be on Dec. 29.

The last Japan tour of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, with trumpeter Terumasa Hino as a special guest, is scheduled for Nov. 24-29 at Blue Note, Tokyo.(03) 5485-0088

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20031030woa6.htm

[jazzbo]

Well, the good news is: we can expect some stunning piano recordings from this marvelous musician.

And I wouldn't be surprised to hear of a new Orchestra formed in three years or so. . . .

I'm behind whatever this great woman wants to do!

[Rooster_Ties]

OK, confession time. I don't think I've ever heard a single note of Akiyoshi's music. (What can I say?? - except to hang my head in shame.)

Where should one begin with her music??

[Christiern]

Barak, Toshiko's farewell big band concert was excellent. A few days later, I had the pleasure of introducing her at a reception held in her honor in the residence of the Japanese ambassador. There were some 80 people in attendance, including a few names most of us recognize (George Wein, Peter Washington, Helen Merrill, and Ira Gitler) and Toshiko played three stunning solos. She had a problem with her hands a few years back, but modern medical procedures have fully restored her ability to play beautifully (with touches of Tatum and, especially, Powell).

[DrJ]

Rooster_Ties Posted on Oct 31 2003, 08:17 AM

  OK, confession time. I don't think I've ever heard a single note of Akiyoshi's music. (What can I say?? - except to hang my head in shame.)

Where should one begin with her music??

Rooster, IMHO you should begin with the RCA recordings of the Akiyoshi-Tabackin big band. I believe you participated in the first blindfold test here, correct? If so, I had put a track on that disc from that era - the title track of the album LONG YELLOW ROAD. If you liked that, you will like most of this music I think.

If you're into vinyl, then if the area you live is anything like mine, you shouldn't have much trouble finding a goodly number of these albums used - KOGUN, LONG YELLOW ROAD, ROAD TIME, and TALES OF A COURTESAN for example. If not, then you have to go to looking for Japanese CDs since basically all of this stuff remains unissued in the U.S. (there was a single CD compilation on RCA/Novus a while back, but you'll want to delve more deeply).

I think a fair criticism of some of this music is that it can occasionally sound kind of "LA Studio," partly due to the presence of people like Gary Foster. But you also get to hear Tabackin in his prime on multiple reed instruments, Bobby Shew and Don Rader (both of whose trumpet playing I dig), and some absolutely wonderous compositions and arrangements. I love this music, and have long been calling for a Mosaic box...I still haven't heard all the music and I have a feeling there'd be some unissued stuff, at least alternate takes. Maybe with the apparent passing of her long-lived orchestra, Mosaic will feel more compelled to memorialize this amazing accomplishment.

For some more obscure Toshiko, outside of the big band: AT TOP OF THE GATE (Intakt - Japan) is going to be hard to find, but if features her in a quintet with Kenny Dorham, Tabackin, Ron Carter, and Mickey Roker from 1968. A fine, swinging but subtly unconventional gig. There's also a VERY fine all-star date on Metrojazz from 1958 called UNITED NATIONS. From AMG:

This very obscure record is not the first date as a leader by Toshiko Akiyoshi, but it is a gem worth acquiring. The pianist is joined by an all-star group that includes either cornetist Nat Adderley or trumpeter Doc Severinson, clarinetist/alto saxophonist Rolf Kuhn, flutist/tenor saxophonist/baritone saxophonist Bobby Jaspar, guitarist Rene Thomas, bassist John Drew, and drummer Bert Dahlander. There's a feeling of camaraderie as a mixture of head arrangements ("Broadway") and written charts ("Strike Up the Band") of standards, as well as original material by the participants (Jaspar's tasty "Sukiyaki" and the leader's "United Notions"), unfold before the listener. The record begins on a slightly campy note as each musician, following the leader's example, introduces himself in his native language. Long out of print, this bop date will have jazz fans scouring cyberspace and auction lists in search of it. — Ken Dryden

I personally LOVE the "campy" intro - really nice idea. I only have this on a CD-R copy thanks to the kindness of a fellow board member, but would be willing to share. It's really a nice record.

Edited October 31, 2003 by DrJ

[robviti]

Yes, it was a very special evening at Carnegie Hall. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I might try to see the orchestra once more at Birdland before they really call it quits. As far as recommendations, you can get a taste of the 70's band with the Novus sampler The Toshiko Akiyoshi/Tabackin Big Band. There's a copy at Half.com for only 7.99. Here's the link: Toshiko. After that, you may choose to get some of the original recordings, which have been remastered and reissued in Japan this past year.

[kulu se mama]

this is unfortunate news.

this ismy favorite progressive big band.

i agree with lon - whatever she decides to do will be wonderful.

i've only made 2 suggestions to mosaic, and 1 is "the complete rca recordings of the toshiko akiyoshi - lew tabackin big band." wonderful stuff.

if anyone is interested - i have an extra copy of the novus compilation.

it includes 8 songs (1 from "insight," 3 from "long yellow road," 3 from "road time," and 1 from "kogun.")

[JSngry]

Toshiko did an early 60s quartet date with then-husband Charlie Mariano for Candid that is superb. I only have it on an old GRT cassette, but it sure is good!

[Christiern]

Photo taken at the Oct 17 reception held for Toshiko at the Japanese ambassador's residence. That's Ambassador Ando on the right. If I look a little nervous it's because it was my last day before leaving age 71!

[Soul Stream]

Photo taken at the Oct 17 reception held for Toshiko at the Japanese ambassador's residence. That's Ambassador Ando on the right. If I look a little nervous it's because it was my last day before leaving age 71!

Hey Chris, you look pretty good! The only other vision I have of you is interviewing Mingus. I thought you might still be sporting that beard and turtleneck vibe you had. B)

[Christiern]

Not to mention beard, shoulder-length hair, and perennial cigarette!

[brownie]

THE Toshiko Akiyoshi Orchestra's New Year gig at Birdland was the band's last.

From AP

NEW YORK (AP) _ After a 30-year run, the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra has played its final chorus, bidding "Dewa mata" (Japanese for "See you later") to fans at a pre-New Year's Eve blast at the Birdland jazz club.

Earlier this year, Akiyoshi had announced that this would be the last season for the big band featuring her husband, saxophonist-flutist Lew Tabackin, as its principal soloist. The band has recorded nearly two dozen albums, 14 of which received Grammy nominations.

The orchestra played a gala farewell concert celebrating its 30th anniversary at Carnegie Hall in October, but gave its final performance at Birdland, where it's had a regular Monday night gig for nearly seven years.

The 74-year-old Akiyoshi said she wanted to focus on her piano playing without having to worry about composing, arranging and leading a 16-piece big band.

"I'm probably the slowest writer on the earth and because of that as the years have gone by, my time for practicing piano was getting less and less," Akiyoshi said in an interview. "I started as a piano player ... and thought it was about time for me to go back to spend more time with the piano."