2007 January 27 Saturday.
I didn't have any classes today, but I did have the opportunity to go and hear some great Swing Jazz music live, and for free! As I did last year, and also the year before that, I immensely enjoyed the good vibes and right-on rhythms of the Sunrise Cherry Orchestra at the Asahi Elementary School. The most interesting thing about this Swing Jazz Orchestra, is that all of the 18 members are elementary school students! Yes, you read that correctly. They are 4th, 5th, and 6th graders at 朝日小学校. What does this really mean? Well, for starters, every year in March, some of the members of this band graduate, and go on to junior high school. So, every year, the band needs to add new members to take their places. This being the case, some of the members performing on stage in today's concert, have been playing their musical instruments for less than one year!!! How was the sound of the music that they played??? Let me put it this way, if you went to the concert with your eyes closed, you would think that a group of adults, semi-professional musicians, was up there on stage making the music happen. I swear to god, they really are that good. One of the main reasons that they are so good, is because they have an excellent teacher, guiding them along the way. A true NAVIGATOR. Please allow me to introduce Shibata Akiko Sensei. I have known Shibata Sensei, for about 10 years, because she used to come to my classroom for English lessons. She is also a very accomplished piano player herself and performs with various local music groups. Today's performance by the SCO began at 15:00, and I arrived at the school just in time to hear the opening number; IN THE MOOD. Next they played; I Got Rhythm, Misty, Moonlight Serenade, Watermelon Man, Autumn Leaves, and Take Five. After that, there was a Special Guest Stage of professional local musicians known as the 本間幸治カルテット. The members of which are: 本間幸治 Trumpet, 平間栄治 Piano, 平間哲治 Drums, 山田顕次 Bass, and 川端章男 Tenor Saxophone. They played the following 3 songs; Candy, Milestones, and Blue Minor. It was excellent. I couldn't stop myself from bobbing up and down, and tapping my hands and feet along with the music. After that, there was a 15 minute intermission. When everybody came back on stage, two more adult musicians joined the group to play a final set of 5 songs. The musicians were, 平間貴子 on Alto Saxophone, and 須藤裕昭 on Bass Saxophone. It was an excellent day for me, just listening to and enjoying the music of people who do what they do, because they have a PASSION for it. It's not about money for these folks, it's about LOVE. Love of music. Love of living. What was that LAW of the COSMOS that I've heard before,...... Give First, Receive Later. On a continuous basis. That's life. Day after day.
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