Q & A

1. What’s this website about?

For sharing information about jazz and related music from Japan and Japanese musicians.

2. Do you write mostly about newer albums?

Yes, mostly albums released during the last twenty years.

3. Do you publish new articles in order as new albums are released?

I post about brand-new releases and older albums in no particular order, but I try to prioritize new releases when I can.

4. How can I find a specific musician here?

You can search the archive or check the Musicians Index.

5. How can I find more information about the musicians?

Check the Musicians Index for links to webpages and albums.

6. How can I find albums from jazz vocalists on this website?

Use the Vocals tag filter to see albums with vocals. Here the Vocals tag is used when the primary album artist is a vocalist or when most songs feature vocals.

7. How can I search for albums with solo piano, bossa nova, violin…?

You can search the archive for keywords like “solo piano”, “bossa nova”, “Brazilian”, “violin”, “duo”, etc.

8. Where can I buy these CDs?

You can check hmv.co.jp, amazon.co.jp, tower.jp, and cdjapan.co.jp, but be aware that 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.

9. What’s J Jazz?

Japanese Jazz. An earlier version of this website and newsletter was named “J Jazz”. To simplify things I changed the name to “Jazz of Japan” (see Version History).

10. I thought J Jazz was more like fusion/groovy funk/dance beats with horns/electronic...

Sometimes the term is used to mean that, or even club jazz, but that is limited to a specific subgenre. Generally, J Jazz represents any type of jazz and related music from Japan or by Japanese musicians.

11. What about “J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan”?

I’m not affiliated with that project, though I do recommend it—it looks and sounds great.