On our way home!

We're here at Narita Airport about to start our last leg back to the USA. Last night was the last big concert at the Kurashiki Jazz Festival and it was definitely a moment to remember. We were one of 3 groups to perform and everyone was in fine form for the occasion and we enjoyed a big party to celebrate our attendance afterwards. It's been and incredible trip and there are still many stories to tell, pictures to share and experiences to remember and savor. We've been incredibly busy, too, so hopefully the few experiences we've related here have given you a little glimpse of our travels and some insight into this side of the world through our eyes and ears. Time to board... check back for some more post trip stories, pictures and sounds from Japan! - Mark (AKA Bebopper)

Training in Japan

As we sit on a bus in LA like traffic with LA like smog in LA like hills, somewhere near Osaka, it's clear that trains are the way to travel in this country. I don't know why we're on a bus... maybe too hard to get where we're going, but the train would most certainly be nicer and probably faster to most destinations. The trains are fast, clean and best of all, they are everywhere, interconnecting in massive central train depots in the major cities that we've been in, including Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto and always punctual. For commuter trains you don't need a schedule (and I didn't see any)... just wait a few minutes and a train arrives.

The experience of train riding here, especially in larger cities like Tokyo and Osaka starts with entering the station with a billion other people and approaching the mind-boggling transit diagrams and anxiety inducing ticket machines with enough on-screen functions, multiple keypads, buttons and flashing lights to put a Vegas slot machine to shame, all labeled and explained in Japanese, which, of course, means all 3 Japanese character sets--the traditional Kanji, derived from Chinese characters, and Hiragana and Katagana cursive shorthand characters for Japanese and foreign words. Walking up to these machines is a stressful experience for Westerners as different train lines have different machines so each trip may be new experience. Just searching for the English button is enough to induce a sweat as people quickly stack up behind while you stand there like an idiot trying to figure out which button to push. Finally you just give up and try to figure out which slot to put money in and just hope for the best. We usually go as a group, so the first person to figure it all out runs around assisting the others, coaxing them gently out of their panicked state with helpful comments like 'can't you read? it's right there in plain Japanese!'

The next step is to find the actual train, no easy feat due to the fact that there are multiple train lines and an endless array of passageways that go up, down and all directions north, south, east and west and a few in between. Although many of the signs have a little English, its still confusing and we usually resort to asking passersby for assistance since we quickly discovered that the Japanese, even when they speak no English, are incredibly eager to be helpful, often resorting to taking us where we want to go rather than try to explain it. Once on the platform, trains are coming and going every few minutes... it's as if every hour is rush hour and watch out when the real rush hour happens, because it is truly out of control, with a tidal wave of people flowing from the trains through the station. Once on board, the advertising assault begins with ads covering every conceivable surface, hanging from the ceiling, covering the hand ring straps and even plastered on the windows. Chaotic as it all seems, there sense of efficiency, as the pre-boarding sensory overload dissipates and calm is restored by the clean, cool and quiet ride, even when the trains are near capacity.

Sakai Home Stories #7

Listen to more home stay stories from Sakai. (Story #7)

Sakai Home Stories #6

Listen to more home stay stories from Sakai. (Story #6)

Sorry about the sound quality and low volume! These were done on the bus, so it's pretty noisy and the audio level was too low. I'll try to fix these when I get back to the states, but for now, try using headphones in a quiet place... that should help some. - Bebopper

Todai-Ji Temple

Our wonderful guide, Harumi, took us (while the kids were away at their home-stays) to the Todai-Ji Temple in Nara, which houses a giant buddha (daibutsu). We spent a couple of hours walking up to and around this spectacular wooden building, apparently one of the largest in the world. This is the same area where the friendly deer roam. Listen to Harumi describe the history of this temple.

Sakai Home Stay Stories #5

Listen to more home stay stories from Sakai. (Story #5)

Sakai Home Stay Stories #3

Listen to more home stay stories from Sakai. (Story #3)

Sakai Home Stay Stories #2

Listen to more home stay stories from Sakai. (Story #2)

Sakai Home Stay Stories #1

Listen to the home stay stories from Sakai. (Story #1)

Even More Photos!

Just posted another batch of 33 photos to my Flickr page. Sorry there aren't any captions, but I think most tell a story without words, except perhaps these odd tables in the woods or those strange aprons on the rocks... I'm not sure what that's all about! Lots of temples and shrines in Kyoto and more friendly deer!

Potter Strikes!

As we step off the Bullet Train in Osaka, the air is filled with a feeling of longing. Five days into the trip we have performed at prestigious Jazz Clubs, eaten world class cuisine, and experienced a culture unlike anything we have ever encountered. But many members of the band still have a large void left unfulfilled. As we walk through the lobby of the New Hankyu Hotel our tour guide Harumi gives us the agenda for the coming day. But it isn't until she mentions the word "bookstore" the people start paying attention.

We see a crazed look come over the eyes of several band members and their lips began to quiver. Like giddy children going to the candy store, our band mates sprint to the store with Yen in hand. They were on a mission to find the way to Hogwarts one last time. In case you're confused, we are talking about the popular "CHILDREN'S" book Harry Potter. With the seventh and final installment coming out just days into our trip many decided they had seen enough of real Japan and were ready to bury their mind in an over zealous children's fantasy for the rest of the trip.

Though at first it seemed harmless, we began to feel worried when "The Book" began to jeopardize the whole reason we came to Japan to begin with--to play music. This first became clear when several members pulled an all-nighter to tear through the first 23 chapters of the 2,419 page book. This left them unfocused and at times unconscious during the sound check the next day.

But during the performance things took a turn for the worst. Trombonist Eva decided during some "free time" during a Sax solo to pull out the book and consequently missed her entrance into the next section. Guitarist Dylan, who was reading the book on stage while playing didn't noticed that the song had ended and continued to strum away while muttering things like "Lumos Gozimas". Things really got out of control when our Director Charles Hamilton mistakingly introduced our 5th trumpet player as Ron Weasley.

So to all you parents out there who think you need to spend $2,000 to send your kid to Japan to have a good time, just know you could have spent $20 to send them to Hogwarts instead. And for the sake of the rest of the trip, let us clue you into one little secret: Page 2,374... ハリーは死ぬ

- Ari & Evan

Home Stay #2

The second home stay in Sakai was a huge success and there are lots of stories to tell. I'll be linking to some audio files here soon, but for the moment, here are 8 pictures taken just before the home-stay parents took off with their extra kids! (These are appended to the previous group of pictures.)

Groovy Encounter in Tokyo

Finally found an Internet connection after hunting around Kyoto for the past couple of days (the hotel is useless for Internet.) It's late, but I'll try to post a few things tonight... tomorrow we get up early to travel to the jazz festival in Kurishiki, so no telling when we'll have Internet access again. First, a little about one of the past gigs in Tokyo, then I'll put up some pictures.

Last Sunday, we played the B Flat Jazz Club in Tokyo along with the Groovy Encounters. This great subterranean jazz spot had a pretty good turn out and both bands put on a good show. The Groovy Encounters is made up of various amateur players in the area and includes a few members of the Rikkyo High Jazz Ensemble. The Rikkyo High group previously demonstrated excellent ensemble playing and this ensemble continued in that vein with a very tight, clean sound. The members were older than the high school group, appearing to be in their 20s, and their sound was more mature. The soloists are much stronger, too, although soloing is still not their strong point. They dressed with flair, most of the members wearing Hawaiian shirts and some wearing funky glasses and hats, which all fit the setting of the setting of the B Flat club with it's low ceiling and brick back wall which was filled with signatures of previous performers. We got to add some of our own after the show.

Listen to the Groovy Encounters ensemble playing and sectional strength as well as the excellent guitar playing and soloing in this recording from the B Flat Jazz Club.

Oh, Deer!

To get to the Todai-Ji Temple in Nara, the former capital of Japan, you first encounter the free-roaming, people-friendly deer who just want a bite to eat. The adults took an hour train ride to Nara with our guide and visited this incredible temple while the kids were off at their home-stays in Sakai... we'll hear more about that when they return tomorrow. For a buck fifty, we bought deer crackers and attempted to have a civilized feeding, but the deer would just mob anyone with food and even nose into your pockets for anything edible... including money! This resulted in scenes of people running along tossing out food, trying to escape the deer mob, only to start a minor stampede across the grounds, much to the amusement of bystanders.

The pitfals of hanging around the deer were depicted in this amusing signage along the route to the temple.



The temple, which was beyond the great entrance here, housed an enormous bronze budah, only about 3 centuries old, the original budah having been in a much larger temple that previously stood on these grounds more than 1000 years ago, flanked by 100 meter tall pagodas which were long gone.

Listen to the sounds of cicedas, tourists, mopeds and feet walking on stone on our stroll up to the Todai-Ji Temple.

More on Food

Japanese food is a trip. It starts with the fact that just about everything in the sea is eaten here and lots of it. Japan is a land of seafood junkies. You can't walk half a block without passing a handful of sushi and tempura establishments. I've been eating sushi or sashimi every chance I get and the quality is great. In the massive underground network of food courts, mixed in with the train depots teaming with people, there is no lack of customers, ensuring that the food is pretty fresh, although the infinite number of choices often create maddning moments of indecision. Many restaurants in these food courts, and in the food alleys that permeate the downtown areas of big cities, are incredibly tiny, often seating only 10-12 people at the counter. This makes for fast and personal service. The plastic food models in the windows and pictures on the menus are helpful to a degree, especially when supplemented by a little English, even if bizarrely translated, and we work our orders out with the waitress or waiter, pointing and gesturing to get understood. This occasionally results in spontaneous new food experiences. The other thing that amazes, is the endless varieties of packaging. Everything down the smallest bite size pastry is packaged impeccably, as if it's going to be sent to the Moon or something. Food processing is an art form here, too, with endless variety of shapes and color, often beyond natural. Have a listen to a few BHS Jazz students talking about the food.

The Gourmet Museum

At home my routine is oatmeal for breakfast and half a turkey sandwich for lunch. Now there are so many choices you'd never think of having the same thing twice. Since many eating places don't have menus in English, we've ordered several times by going back outside of the restaurant and pointing at our choices (complete meals are depicted in realistic plastic models) to the waitress.

After the early morning (5 AM!) at the fish market in Tokyo (an adult trek, the kids were in homestays), watching the tuna auction, we couldn't resist eating at one of the sashimi counters. We asked the girl taking orders about one of the items in the picture. She went off to make a phone call and came back holding up the cell phone with one word on the screen: scallops. The food counters at the the Gourmet Museum (really a floor filled with restaurants, Japanese, of course, and surprisingly many European foods, like pasta and lots of pastries and desserts) near our hotel in Osaka have Japanese food so beautifully displayed I thought it was soap!

- Ruth

Random Photos

I finally got a good enough wireless connection to upload a few pictures late today... click here to check them out. Our wireless Internet connection has been kinda flaky and we've been out and about most of the day then back to the hotel to crash for the last few days, so apologies for the delays between posts... we know many of you are dying to hear more about our adventures. Hopefully these pictures will tell a few stories for the moment.

Osaka Update

Hello again, from our last night in Osaka. Those of you reading these pieces for a coherent reportage of our journey, I hope some of our other chaperones will provide it, 'cause I know I'm not--I hardly know what day it is. Checking back on the itinerary, I realize that I didn't mention performance #2 at the B-Flat Club with the "Groovy Encounters." I'll have to get back to you on that--I've tried to stay apace of my more adventurous colleagues in seeking out the groovy encounters with Japanese culture around us, but I've run aground with my monthly curse of migraine and at the moment, the B-Flat club is not coming up in my GPS. I did mention gig #1 and the Rikkyo Jr. and High School but jumped to the Royal Horse. Sorry.

And while I'm at it, the Royal Horse gig, as unlikely-of-success as it seemed at the beginning, turned into a more positive and pleasing performance as the set progressed. The Global Jazz Orchestra didn't draw much of an audience, but they were excellent. A very tight band with one American ex-pat who's lived in Tokyo for five years and was in a powerful trumpet section. Their set was characterized by the precision we've seen from the middle schoolers on up in the Japanese music scene. The downside was the painfully loud assault on our eardrums. They invited our students to sit in on a last number and Ari and Akeem took the step. Both were well received and their initiative was an inspiration. One of the trumpet players took extra time and care after the set, delivering a compact master class for Arianna who has immediately taken to practicing his assigned drills. His ultra high notes were riveting.

I've run out of steam again. This evening I passed up an outing to see a Bunraku theater piece. Mark has just returned and gave a very positive review. I've slept, tried to catch up on home email which I vowed I'd ignore until returning to CA, had a nice hang with Charles, and now need to get to sleep for an early call tomorrow, moving onward to Kyoto.

I'll try next opportunity to recount our concert in Sakai; our students will have reports on their home-stays, which were graciously organized by the Berkeley-Sakai association. When we last saw them heading out with their family hosts, everyone was all smiles. We helped break in a completely new facility of the city of Sakai, and many city employees worked diligently to make the production a success. My minor personal contribution was a presentation of an official City of Berkeley Proclamation acknowledging the 40 years of the Sister City relationship, and I for one was touched by the solemnity and dignity in the very brief ceremony. Whatever the younger generation may feel about such things, the adults seem to understand the gravity and the urgency of promoting international understanding and friendship. Maybe consciousness of our shared history in the 20th century is more immediate to them than to us.

Chuck

On to Osaka

It's the morning after the gig in Osaka at the Royal Horse Jazz Club, opening for Global Jazz Orchestra. A morning after to remember. My ears are still ringing. The Royal Horse was a long narrow space with a bar at one end and a stage more suited to combos than big ensembles at the other. Low dark wood coffered ceilings, moody club lighting, lots of pictures of artists who've played there, a couple large Matisse prints and a poster portrait of a smiling MLK. An evening of contrasts, but before I forget, a couple notes and notions about Tokyo's famous youth culture and I'm sorry, I haven't retained the name, the commercial district dominated by kids shopping their brains out [Harajuku, pictured here. - M.]
Another great idea from Mark, although he was scooped by several kids who'd already been there and in strolling the circuit of several blocks, we encountered them and I marveled at their nonchalance about the whole deal which made my head spin and brought me one of my groovy ocular migraines which Mick had the proper name for of course and which I of course can't remember. For this geezer, incredible data overload, visual and auditory. Blocks of throngs of kids sporting styles which defy description, but I'll try: Samurai goth? faux hooker? Little Bo Peep clones? The dominant costume for guys seemed to be really spikey hair, sometimes with a top knot in traditional Japanese warrior style, and Japlish messages on garments, sometimes seeming to be bad translations of something which probably made sense in Japanese, and sometimes phrases or sentences right out of MadLibs. Non sequiturs abounding. Girls mostly sexy sexy sexy, certainly heavily made up, many in semi-grown-up Jon Benet whatshername beauty-queen child victim style, always wearing high heels, often looking both older and infantalized at the same time. I'm sure there is a scholarship in the literature of contemporary anthropology about this, so remember, just notes and my general ignorance here, but these kids seemed to be incredibly dedicated to shopping for just the right thing for just the right image, and to the senior citizen here, it looked like decadence. Shops were crowded, selling mostly clothes, accessories, and sweets. Primary color graphics heavy on that cutsey Japanese Hello Kitty infused sensibility Advertising everywhere, shop spaces spilling out into the pedestrian allees, Wares-hawkers blaring into megaphones, passing out promotions, obviously employees selected for their voices, grating, hard to ignore, and hard to believe anyone would want to listen to the pitch and timbre they achieve, but hey, what do I know, it must be working. One larger store with a rack of sale merchandise out front with a bunch of sales people whipping the crowd into a frenzy to buy the severely marked down items. There were a few gaming parlors in the mix, and when the door opened for someone entering or exiting, the already deafening cacophonous blast kicked up several decibels. How anyone could sit in there, "banging on them pleasure machines" and find the fulfillment or fun they seek--I obviously don't get it. Even in my own generation, I've never particular gotten it, what is hip, but what it is hereabouts is astounding to me.

A group of us chaperones decided to look for food--something other than the sweet crepes and sugar vehicles for sale to the kids. We took a walking turn out of the madding crowd and less than a half a block away came upon a well kept path and the Shinto gate similar to what we had seen often before. A short walk and we were in serenity, solitude, a landscape including meditation sites, ponds, fountains, everything I personally find moving and soul-restoring in the Japanese traditional aesthetic. At the end of the winding path uphill and steps there was a closed gate and a rather large and lighted building which seemed to be some sort of a meeting space. Unable to go further, we turned back and pursued food. A two minute walk separated aspects of Japan as different-seeming as dichotomous poles: minimalist, elegant, spare, harmonized in unity with nature VS. the ueber-cosmetic teetering on high heels, in your face, excessive, jarring, grating consuming compulsively unnatural. Whoa. It amplifies the notion of sight-seeing to an exhausting level. I literally couldn't take another minute of it and would have stayed in the Shinto landscape the rest of the evening if I hadn't been starving. This morning I started thinking that like so much of social convention, it can also be seen as recycled fragments of traditional Japanese forms such as the geisha, Noh, Kabuki, and the Bunraku. There is excessive masking, make-up, operatic discord and near-fanatical lavishing of attention to detail, certainly in ruling class custom and entertainment, with focus on the female even if cross-dressed. So as Harry Truman is supposed to have said, "The only thing new is the history you haven't read."

Ah, back to yesterday morning. Instruments and luggage on a truck, we walked to the train station and rode the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka, a trip comparable to SF -- LA, but in about two hours, including two very brief stops in en route cities. Yes it is fast. At one point the brightness through the window traveling west, with the power poles' shadows falling on my lap, there was a strobe effect which I had to shut out fearing a second consecutive day of migraine. The track must be immaculately engineered and maintained, cause it was one of the smoothest rides I've experiences in any conveyance of any sort. Precision in ensemble music, precision in laying track, and in their technologies in general. Lots to admire and learn from here.

Osaka sounds and feels different in the street, but I couldn't explain what I mean. The voices sound different, even. Regional accents? Dunno. Everywhere in Japan one drives as in England, on the left. Most pedestrian traffic sorts follows suit. Escalators in Tokyo reserve left lane for normal standing and the urgent ones pass on your right. Osaka, for some reason, reverses this on the escalators. (?)

The hotel room in Osaka is quite similar but about 3/4 scale of the already pretty tiny room we had in Tokyo. There is a huge underground shopping area connecting hotels, station, street-level buildings, and it is thronged as are streets above. Hot, humid, slightly low-ceilinged and claustrophobic, I found. We had a nice meal in one of the noodle shops. Cost about $8 without a drink, and the waitress was exceptionally accommodating and instructed Eva on how to properly eat the dish she ordered. Good feelings.

The gig at the jazz club had the best and the worst rolled into one experience. The room was really difficult for us. The sound check wasn't a sound check in the sense that there was no one in evidence checking mike levels and doing enhancing adjustments at a board. Tuning was problematic. Much of the band had a hard time hearing rhythm. A sinking feeling came over me. I tried to stay encouraging. The kids were playing too loud, the vibes was miked too loud, oh geez what to do. Apprehension. Not many people there for an audience. The other band seemed not to be in attendance. The signs were not good. We began playing to a sparse house, and each number seemed to get a little better. Mike had to play the piano. Samara had injured a finger and it was doubtful that he would/should play much, if at all. Yet, the set finished strong. The "trio" played with delicacy and grace. The set and encore were well received. The featured band were even louder than we were and had the characteristic Japanese precision and excellence. More about them etc, later.

Chuck

On Green Dolphin Street with Rikkyo High

Listen to this joint performance with Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble and Rikkyo High Jazz Band playing On Green Dolphin Street. That's a 60+ piece big band!

Home Stay Life

The home stays were the cultural equivalent of jumping in the deep end with only a few brief swimming lessons for most of the kids. Jereme, Samora, Akeem, Eva and Dylan share some of their delights, dismays, shocks and, ultimately memorable moments of their home stay experience in this recording made shortly after the first night of their home stays. Listen now!

Touring vs. Traveling

A great American historian noted forty years ago that American affluence promoted more tourism than travel. We seek out, he asserted, the exotic and colorful pseudo experiences that bring status but don't really challenge our cultural assumptions. We want our journeys to deliver us to Kodak photo opportunities but put us up in facilities with plumbing we find comfortable and food we find palatable. Our trip, I think, is heavy on the travel aspects because we're favored with a real mission (it's about the music, folks), and we enjoy the sheer good luck that the troupe of chaperones is compatible enough that we've found roles within our adult group which challenge us enough but strain us no more than we can handle. So that's my take so far, we've miles to go before returning to our own.
So what this weblog would like to do, finding time and energy, is blurt out some impressions and notions without adulteration of facts, research, or much authority beyond my own nose.
What you really want to know about back home is those toilets which squirt your butt, right? Well, we're leaving the Prince Hotel this morning, and I just tried out our deluxe heated seat, water-level--adjusting, fart-sucking, doubles-as-bidet, and adjustable-water-temp and force-of-flow toilet. I can say that it works and it is the most unusual, well almost, lower G.I. experience I've had in many years. You have vivid imaginations so I'll leave it at that.
Other notable adventures in the briefest log notation:
The flight was long (doh) and the seats were too small, but the service and food were excellent.
Our agency hosts/facilitators are organized, responsive (especially the lovely and entertaining Harumi), and competent. We've yet to miss a plane, train, or bus, and we've established good internal lines of communication and accountability, none of which means a damn without the students' cooperation which has been remarkable, exemplary, a joy. It is a privilege for me to be here and entrusted with some oversight of your sons and daughters. This is a wonderful group of kids and fiercely passionate musicians.
St. Paul's school is immaculate; the all-boys student body has produces some musicians of excellence. Their performance was tight as a drum and they were justly proud of their program. Their sound was full (a big big band), and orchestral (including two tubas, timpani, flutes and clarinets--truly a wind orchestra more than a jazz group. Some of the boys, nearly all seemed much younger than our kids, implored Akeem to rap and he obliged with grace and humor, assisted by Nathan and Samora with mouth music. The home stay experiences were mixed, but even the ones clearly less enjoyable held valuable lessons in the observations of local customs, other peoples' family dynamics, and just the insights gained from travel rather than tourism. Our concluding piece at the St; Paul's concert was not in our band's play list and was essentially sight-read on the spot and done pretty damn well at that. The parents of our host students were gracious and attentive at performance.

This place is very expensive. We all knew that coming in, but I find myself spending more money than I intended with the persuasive rationale that this is a once-in-a-lifetime shot for me--not only in the geographic context but also in the company of my fine fellow chaperones.

My roomie Mark has made a fabulous contribution to my enjoyment and edification, as well as to the travel-is-broadening aspect of the experience of all the parents aboard. He has initiatives daily and through his proposals, our unencumbered-by-kids- time has been wild. We have made forays into the vastness of Tokyo, including a little hole-in-the-wallo restaurant (?!) which was a one man operation where the sake was dispensed through gag containers including a naked boy statue who pissed the beverage into your cup and a mug (for sake--couldn't be more un-Japanese) which shook like the "DT's" when you picked it up and attempted to drink. There we were, eight of us, trying to sit on the floor with our less flexible knees and joints complaining loudly while this wild man attacked us with schtick which probably would become funnier and funnier them more sake you drank or the more you were a fan of the THree Stooges rolled into one. We didn't stay for food, made out escape and were even accosted by him on the street half a block into our getaway. Memorable!
We wandered late looking for a place to celebrate Mark's fiftieth birthday, eventually found a good place which served those language-impaired like us, had a wonderful late dinner and made it safely to the hotel.

We can't credit Mark with the fish-market-before dawn proposal which was espoused by several, including Ruth, but it was really tough to get up after such a late night and still shaking off jet lag, etc., but we did it, I think seven of us, and it was an absolutely, for me, essential and provocative excursion. The Tokyo distribution system for produce and foodstuffs of every kind is understandably vast for a city of 12 million or so. The fish section is incredible. Most notable, which you will all see in our photos eventually, was a huge, maybe football-field-sized refrigerated hall with orderly rows of tuna, sorted by species, variety, weight, and company, all of which were auctioned off in a very short time by incredibly loud and animated auctioneers. The buyers studied the catch (all fast and deep frozen on board factory ships at sea) by hacking out chunks from the tail cut, kneading it in their palms, studying its color and texture with powerful flashlights, and then tasting it. There is a reason that eating fresh fish for breakfast works so well around here. The fish is incredibly fresh, well selected and handled to bring it to table. The scale of the operation inevitably provokes questions about the decline in the world's fisheries and how we can redirect our efforts to a sustainable global public policy on how to feed ourselves from the diminishing bounty of the sea. Somewhere also, out of view, the Japanese are harvesting and buying/selling whales. That is not publicly available as far as I know, but one wonders.

This morning we are heading for the bullet train to Osaka.
Kids are in the breakfast line and we have to make this train on time.
I have to suspend this and save my reflections on last night's excursion to the most intense juvenile consumer culture experience I ever imagined. My mind still reels. So later.
Chuck

First Concert July 21st

Just a quick shot of Ham and the horns in action at the first concert at Rikkyo High. (Click the picture, or any picture in this blog, to see a nice big version. Especially nice for those over 50:-)

We Meet Rikkyo High

After a half day of site seeing around Shinjuku, Tokyo's busiest rail station and tallest building, and Asakusa, home of Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple and biggest incense burner, we headed to Kurushiki for our first rehearsal, a joint practice with Rikkyo High to play On Green Dolphin Street together. Language is no barrier, as long as we're speaking music, and pure enthusiasm bridged any remaining gaps.

Oh, Thank Heaven

...for 7-11 in Tokyo. Alas, no Slurpees here, but at least there's a good selection of dried seafood to choose from.

Planet Tokyo

I know, I know... where the heck have we been and what's up with this blog thing, anyway? Well, as they say, the Internet is everywhere these days, except in one wing of a hotel in Shinagawa, where we happen to be staying, of course. I got an access card for the wireless in the hotel cafe, but then it took me a day to figure out how to type in my password correctly. Yes, I'm a professional IT guy. But please forgive me... we are on another planet.

We are READY!

Ohayo-o Tokyo! We are HERE, having fun, riding planes, trains and taxi cabs, dodging bicycles and tiny motorized vehicles of all kinds, getting caught up in masses of humanity swarming through the world's busiest subway stations, being dazzled by neon, bright lights and color and outrageous comic book visuals everywhere, on every facade of everything that has a vertical surface, exhilarated by the rush of the sprawling megalopolis of Tokyo, eating rice, noodles miso and sushi, breathing deep, collecting our spirits, taking a few moments to pause and reflect in ages old Shinto shrines, resting just enough to reset our body clocks, then out to inhale more of this crazy Tokyo. Oh, and the kids played some music, yesterday, too.

Ready to Board!

SFO to Tokyo/Narita... just hanging out 'till the jam, er, uh... boarding call.

Piano Jazz

Check it out! Marian McPartland had special guest Julian Waterfall Pollack on her wonderful Piano Jazz show, which recently aired on KCSM.

Cheese Board Jazz

Thursday evenings at the Cheese Board you'll find members of Berkeley High Jazz and other area musicians jamming away in the front corner of this recently expanded hot spot in the heart of Berkeley's gourmet ghetto. This evening (July 12), Max Griffith took on the drumming, with Jereme Altenberg on bass and Julian Pollack on keys, rythmically romping around and chasing each other through one jazz standard after another. One of the best little jazz spots around, especially when you combine that with a slice of heavenly Cheese Board pizza on a warm summer evening. And between the Cheese Board workers, the band and the customers, it's hard to tell who's having more fun!