In May 2025 Japan welcomed an estimated 3.693 million visitors, marking a surge in global fascination with the country—up 125% (more than double!) compared to a decade ago. Many come for the exquisite ...

With this year's International Jazz Day concert taking place in Osaka, an East Asian historian (a musician himself) describes how the music came... If you've witnessed a headlining performance from ...

My friend Rhonda Laurie is a swinging jazz singer (Sidewalk Café and more), music business instructor and underground promoter. Right now she's trying to put together a fundraising event to support ...

One night in a Japanese jazz kissa changed music listening for me forever. My love for the jazz piano trio began in the most unique way possible. Every now and then, a listening session turns into ...

April is Jazz Appreciation Month. It’s also National Poetry Month. And the 2024 Unbound Book Festival wraps up Sunday. So it only seemed apropos to exchange emails with my friend Wayne Zade — a jazz ...

The renowned jazz club Body & Soul, a cornerstone of Japan's jazz scene, will close at the end of September after more than half a ce ...

Interest in jazz kissa is growing internationally, and kissa-inspired listening venues are appearing outside Japan; can they compete with the real thing? Today’s mail call brought with it a wonderful ...

Incidentally, the centerpiece Global Concert of this year's International Jazz Day — the annual musical diplomacy initiative from UNESCO and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz — was held today in ...