Welcome to Jazz of Japan

This site is dedicated to showcasing modern jazz albums from Japan and Japanese musicians.

On Jazz of Japan, my motivation is to provide straightforward descriptions of jazz recordings from Japanese musicians with photos, audio clips, and links to more information. Rather than a music critic’s album reviews, these are simple, honest introductions of new music to enjoy related to Japanese jazz.

In addition to albums, in some articles I also explore the world of Japanese jazz in real jazz bars, clubs, and live spots in Japan.

Subscribe to the newsletter

By subscribing to the newsletter, you won’t have to worry about missing anything. Each new edition goes directly to your inbox, and you can unsubscribe or resubscribe easily at any time.

About this site

Jazz of Japan is an email newsletter with a website archive at www.jazzofjapan.com.

You can view, browse, and search the website for free and without an account. And, if this topic appeals to you, you can also sign up for the free newsletter to get updates in your email. There’s also a premium membership available to upgrade your subscription for extra updates and to support my work here.

About the albums

The album articles relate to jazz albums from Japan and are free and readable by all. Subscribers to the newsletter will get an email each time a new article is published.

I strive to make each article brief but descriptive: a straightforward overview of an album with photos of the CD and links to audio and video. I include short audio excerpts to get a taste of the album, and sometimes I translate and include portions of the liner notes as well.

The focus of each article is on the music itself with the goal of sharing it with a wider audience. In most cases, these are modern-day albums from current musicians who are still playing in Japan and can be seen at live performances.

About the clubs

In addition to albums, I also write about live jazz venues including clubs, bars, cafes, and similar places in Japan. For both albums and clubs, all of the information is gathered first-hand through my direct experience, and all photos were taken by me (excluding official album cover art images).

These club articles are mostly about specific venues in Japan, and also occasionally feature extra information for interested readers, with more photos and guides about Japanese jazz.

Q&A

What’s this site about?

For sharing information about jazz and related music from Japan and Japanese musicians, mostly through albums released during the last twenty years. I write about both new releases and older albums in no particular order, but I try to prioritize new releases when I can.

How can I find a specific musician here?

Search the archive, or check the Index, which has links to musicians’ websites and albums.

How can I find albums with vocals, solo piano, violin, bossa nova, subgenres…

You can search the archive for keywords like “straight ahead”, “bebop”, “solo piano”, “violin”, “vocals”, “bossa nova”, “Brazilian”, etc.

Where can I buy these CDs?

Check the Japanese sites for HMV, Amazon, Tower, and CD Japan (not all sites ship overseas). You may also be able to buy CDs directly from the musicians at their live shows or through their websites.

What’s J Jazz?

Japanese Jazz (see [What’s J Jazz? for more). An early version of this website and newsletter was named J Jazz.

Where are the albums by … ?

There are some famous musicians and albums that are still missing from the archive. I hope to cover these excellent players and albums someday! Still, I do try to share information about newer albums and musicians that are not as widely discussed.

For example, some famous Japanese jazz musicians and groups include:

• On piano: Toshiko Akiyoshi, Hiromi Uehara, Makoto Ozone, Ryo Fukui, Masabumi Kikuchi, Yosuke Yamashita, Masahiko Satoh, …
• On bass: Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Yasushi Nakamura, Noriko Ueda, Isao Suzuki, Tetsuo Sakurai, …
• On sax: Sadao Watanabe, Kosuke Mine, Hideaki Mochizuki, …
• On trumpet: Terumasa Hino, Takuya Kuroda, Fumio Nanri, Hideo Shiraki, …
• On drums: George Kawaguchi, Takeshi Inomata, Akira Jimbo , Fukushi Tainaka, …
• On guitar: Ryo Kawasaki, Kazumi Watanabe, Issei Noro, …
• Groups: T-Square, Soil & “Pimp” Sessions, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Casiopea, Orange Pekoe, Tokyo Jihen, KBB, Quasimode, …

How are the names of Japanese musicians displayed here?

The musicians’ names on this website are shown in first-name last-name order when written in English (given name first), and last-name first-name order in Japanese (family name first). For example:

• Akane Matsumoto is 松本茜, where Akane is 茜 and Matsumoto is 松本, typically read in Japanese in the order 松本 (MATSUMOTO) 茜 (AKANE).
• Fumio Karashima is 辛島文雄, where Fumio is 文雄 and Karashima is 辛島, typically read in Japanese in the order 辛島 (KARASHIMA) 文雄 (FUMIO).

Although some official organizations and media use the traditional Japanese name order as standard, in many cases (such as on albums and music catalogs) Japanese musicians’ names are shown in first-name last-name order when displayed in English, such as with an artist or a band name.

For any comments or questions…

Don’t hesitate to reach out with your suggestions or comments. An easy way to contact me is by replying to the newsletter email.

Premium Subscribers

Like Jazz of Japan? Support this project!

In addition to signing up to the free newsletter, you can also upgrade to a premium membership through the Subscriber portal, where you can upgrade or change your settings. Alternatively, you can click the “Manage Your Subscription” link at the bottom of any email from Jazz of Japan or click the “Upgrade” link in the archive.

If you’re not already signed up for the newsletter, you can enter your email address here:

Benefits of a premium subscription

In addition to the emails that regular subscribers receive through the newsletter, premium subscribers receive occasional bonus emails. While the regular emails are all about Japanese jazz albums, the extra issues are about Japanese jazz clubs, venues, or guides with extra information (and lots of photos) on real modern-day jazz scenes in Japan. I send these premium issues through the newsletter exclusively to premium subscribers about once a month, in addition to the usual weekly emails.

Having said that, I’m not currently using paywalls in any of the articles. I hope that choosing to upgrade to a premium subscription is a good optional way to show your personal support for this site. I put a lot of work and care into Jazz of Japan, and I never take your contributions or your attention as a reader for granted, as they really mean a lot to me.

Subscriptions to Jazz of Japan can be canceled at any time. Payments are handled securely through the Stripe platform, just like they were on Substack. If there's ever a problem with your subscription, just contact me and I will try to make things right.

With special thanks to…

Thank you to all Jazz of Japan supporters! I'd like to especially thank some premium supporters, present and past, including these fine folks:

Ray J., Bruce R., Jack L., Ring Flaxen, P. B., Bruce D R., Richard N., Jarmo E., Stregoni, Syd Schwartz Jazz and Coffee, Anonymous, … Seriously, thank you!

I really appreciate the attention and support you send my way. This is a completely human-powered project (just me), and your interest honestly elevates my motivation and momentum. Whether you are a regular reader who subscribes to the newsletter, or someone who shows supports through a paid subscription, or someone who adds a comment or sends a note to just say thanks, it makes a big difference.

If you would like to support Jazz of Japan and have a link you would like to share here (or if you prefer to remain anonymous), please don't hesitate to reach out and let me know.

Publishing since 2018 as “J Jazz: Modern Jazz From Japan” (since Jan 2018 on WordPress), “J Jazz Substack” (since May 2021 on Substack), and “Jazz of Japan” (since Jan 2022 on GitHub, May 2023 on Substack, and Feb 2026 on Buttondown).

© Brian McCrory. All rights reserved. Content may be quoted with attribution but may not be reproduced in full or used for commercial or promotional purposes without permission. This site does not collect or track personal data. Payment information is processed securely by Stripe and is never stored or shared by this site. Any other information you voluntarily submit is used only to respond or improve the site and is not sold or disclosed to third parties.

Jazz of Japan • Jan 25, 2018 (rev. May 1, 2026) • Brian McCrory