Sicko
July 23, I performed at the Saratoga Jazz Festival for Somi. Besides playing the piano, I had to drive all the band members and I had to return the rental van to the Budget, a rental car company, in Queens.
It was about past 10pm, I was heading to 125th on Lenox avenue to make a right turn and take a triboro bridge. I was stuck in traffic at 124th street on Lenox. There were lots of people around that area. It was a hot Saturday night. I thought they had a block party or something.
Then I heard some sound somewhere near. It sounded like a fire cracker. A 10 seconds later, I heard another one.
Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang.
It didn't take me a second to figure out this was not a fire cracker.People screamed and ran away. Some people ducked themselves.
S-C-A-R-Y !
I have never experienced this kind of horrors. I . a Tokyo -born pianist, have never been taught in school how to protect myself from random shooting. But I just took off my seatbelt and tried to hide myself under the driving wheel. I stayed there about 10 minutes. Many police cars came pass my van. Cops rushed to the scene holding guns in their hands.
After I came home without any injury or any damage on my rental van, I checked the news that told 6 people got shot that night within hours.It was good that nothing was mentioned about a Japanese pianist was about to wet his pants inside the van.
(Pause)
I may be living in the USA too long. (12 years!) I started to see the dark side of America. The book, Notes and Tones, told me something about racism. The shooting I experienced above told me something about guns are all over the place. Then I saw the movie, Sicko, yeasterday. It told me something about people here have to be super rich unless you're OK to lose your fingers.
S-C-A-R-Y!
Bowling for Columbine has not stopped that shooting in Harlem I saw. Fahrenheit 9/11 has not stopped Iraq war. So it seems this new movie will not change USA health insurance system but I just hope things will be better. I just don't want to lose my fingers as a pianist.
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Notes and Tones
I'm reading a book" Notes and Tones" written by Arthur Taylor. It's interviews of 29 black prominent Jazz musicians such as Miles , Monk or Elvin in 60's and early 70's.
There are so many stories I've never known. Racism is the under tone of this book.
When it comes to racism, I , a Japanese living in the US and A, have nothing to say. Japanese has nothing to do with White vs Black, Christ vs Islam , Israel vs Palestine, right?
But when it comes to that this music is Afro American's music only Afro Amreican can play, I , a Japanese Jazz Pianist living in the US and A, have to think about it.
According to this book, no" Jazz" innovators like the word "Jazz" that originally means having sex with prostitutes. Instead, they wanted to call it Afro American music.
I believe time has changed.We're in 2007. Look at Rice or Obama. Look at me playing in American musicians' band and performing at various Jazz Festivals in the States. But while I am reading this book, I feel like I don't know anything about this music.
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TaKe Toriyama
I've been so disturbed by that last 10 days or so.
I don't know if it's OK to write this kind of thing on blog.
(I just don't know what blog is , anyway.)
But I 'll write , cause I want to move on.
A great Japanese drummer, my one of long time best friend
TaKe Toriyama passed away.
I don't know when exactly he died but on Memorial day,
this sad news came in from an another best friend of both,
fine bassist Yoshi Waki.
TaKe hung himself.
I met him at the Berklee College of Music about 12 years ago.
We practiced together, we did many concerts together.
We moved to NY almost same time.
We giged together.
(He was my drummer when I performed at the NY Blue Note
for my first time.)
We hung out.
Last time I played with was a Christmas eve at my regular Sunday nights
gig at the Cleopatra's Needle.
For some reason, I haven't seen him since this year.
He's been busy touring , recording and all that.
Yoshi told me last month that TaKe ran out of his visa status
so he decided to go home on June.
Yoshi and I were planning some farewell party for him.
But not this way......
He was gentle, always nice, joking around, funny,
and very sincere.
I didn't get why he had to end his life this way.
He didn't leave any notes, either.
Last Sunday was his funeral day.
It was strange.
More than 150 people (mostly musicians ) showed up.
He was loved so much by all people who know him
beyond nationalities.
Life is very ironic.
When I looked the way people gave their respect toward him,
I started to feel like he looked happy and people he left looked unhappy.
He died young (38 yeard old.)
But he'll never join funerals of his friends.
That seemed lucky.
I felt like I don't want many friends
because I' don't want to face this kind of sorrow many times.
But is it happy to be lonely?
10 days or so passed.
I still think of him.
I wanted to play together, talk ,eat and laugh together,
I wanted to struggle together.
I came to know that I liked him.
I regret why I didn't say to him I like him.
So many should have could have,
But that you can see the future could be also unhappy thing.
Can you say "I love you" to the person
who you know he'll commit suicide in 12 years
without any weird feelings?
I miss him so much.
All my prayers to his family.
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