A live jazz concert was held at the Koryuji Temple in the town of Mukawa, the city of Hokuto in Yamanashi Prefecture (https://www.yamaderadejazz.com/). This was the fourth event conducted at the same location starting from 2014, attracting more than three hundred people every year. The Koryuji Temple belongs to the Soto School of Zen Buddhism (Refer to GALLERY). The chief priest of the temple likes the jazz music and he himself plays the drums.
The concert consisted of three parts. The first part was performed by the members of the Waseda University New Orleans Jazz Club. Classic New Orleans standards including “Bourbon Street” and “When the Saints Go Marching In” were presented. The second part was performed by the Yamadera Knights Quartet consisting of Naoki Nishi (piano), Benisuke Sakai (bass), Hitoshi Hamada (vibraphone), Tatsuya Sato (tenor saxophone), and Nobuyuki Komatsu (drums). Several pieces including Nishi’s and Hamada’s were presented. In the third part, vocalist Kimiko Ito joined the Quartet and presented several classical standards including “My Favorite Things” by John Coltrane which was performed in Tsugaru-direct and English versions. The Tsugaru-direct pieces sung by Kimiko were very amusing and warm. Kimiko also sung a piece from her new-releasing CD: Ai San-san (radiant love) originally presented by a Japanese-legend singer Hibari Misora. The concert was highly successful.
Koryuji Temple and the Yamadera Knight Quartet with Kimoko Ito at ease, Mukawa-town, Hokuto-city, Yamanashi, 5/21/2017