Nichi Bei Weekly Report Award-winning jazz musician Mark Izu will present his latest concert “Songs for J-Town,” featuring a personal reflection of his nearly five-decade musical journey, April 23 at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco. He recently sat down with the Nichi Bei Weekly to discuss the project, and what it means to him. […]
Mark Izu’s reflective journey through music with ‘Songs For J-Town’ April 23
April 14, 2022 by Leave a Comment
THE GREAT UNKNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN GREAT: Classical music behind barbed wires
October 10, 2019 by Leave a Comment
(Editor’s Note: The following was co-written with Jonathan van Harmelen) In the tragic and difficult conditions faced by Japanese Americans confined in the War Relocation Authority camps during World War II, one imposing arena of achievement was in the arts. In recent years, a number of books and exhibits have highlighted not only the extraordinary […]
George Yoshida, musician and educator, dies
May 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment
George Yoshida, a longtime musician, educator, band leader and author of a book on Japanese American contributions to music, died on May 13, 2014 due to a stroke. He was 92. “A giant has fallen … a modest man whose enormous musical soul and heart-filled zest for life that touched people around the world has […]
Ryoko Moriyama, daughter of Nisei jazz legend, performs in SF
January 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Acclaimed Japanese singer Ryoko Moriyama, daughter of a San Francisco-born Nisei jazz musician, performed at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California’s annual New Year’s party on Jan. 8. Her first visit to the city in several years, Moriyama, whose hits include “Kinjirareta Koi,” “Nada Sōsō,” “Anata ga Sukide,” and “Satokibi Batake,” sang for […]
A world through Coltrane: Asian American Orchestra pays tribute to jazz legend
October 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment
“India & Africa: A Tribute to John Coltrane” is an hour-long set that Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra premiered on Sept. 29 at Yoshi’s San Francisco. The two-part concert plays tribute to jazz legend John Coltrane’s religious and spiritual expression found in his later works, when they became particularly spiritually oriented with the 1964 release […]
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