What's J Jazz?
What’s J Jazz?
J Jazz, or Japanese Jazz, is a classification label found in sections of some record and CD shops in Japan. These are sections that record stores use to spotlight and organize albums from Japanese jazz musicians. By separating the Japanese artists’ albums from the general jazz section, both local and overseas customers who are visiting Japan can more easily find unfamiliar Japanese jazz albums.
This is especially helpful for travelers with limited time who want to find and obtain these albums quickly. A favorite spot to browse the current J Jazz offerings in Tokyo is Disk Union “Jazz Tokyo” near Ochanomizu station. There are many second-hand offerings there as well, providing a great way to stock up on lower-priced albums.
Of course, this is also great for local Japanese musicians, whose works are made more visible and supported in this spotlight, rather than being scattered among the shelves with the general jazz catalog.
As a side note, the term J Jazz was also used as the original title of this website. Launched in January 2018, this site was titled “J Jazz: Modern Jazz from Japan”, but I changed the name in January 2022 to “Jazz of Japan” for simplicity and clarity.
J Jazz as a Sub-Genre
Another lesser-known, and maybe nonstandard, use of the term J Jazz refers to a specific sub-genre of music with elements of rock, funk, disco, and jazz, usually framed by a club or dance beat and a horn section. This is similar to EDM, dance, or chill-oriented music and is also like the club jazz sub-genre, which itself is very popular with a big audience. But the jazz music that I talk about here is different from the specific club jazz sub-genre.
In these articles, I use the term J Jazz in a broader sense to represent jazz and related music from Japan, created by Japanese musicians, and released on albums produced in Japan (these are general guidelines, not strict rules). In most ways, musically, there isn’t a big difference between the music in the general jazz section and the J Jazz section of the record store. The usual styles of jazz such as bebop, swing, hard bop, fusion, contemporary, free jazz, and the like will be found in both categories.
In this way of thinking, I don’t consider J Jazz to be a distinct sub-genre of jazz, as there are no defining or limiting musical elements or styles that are distinct from other jazz genres. The difference is that the albums or the albums’ musicians are from Japan. In other words, jazz of Japan.
J Jazz and Traditional Japanese Elements
Considering the guidelines above, it follows that the jazz of Japan extends beyond music with elements that were deliberately chosen to highlight Japanese influences.
For example, J Jazz does not have to feature traditional instruments like shakuhachi flutes, taiko drums, or shamisen. Neither are elements exclusively drawn from traditional dramatic forms like Enka, Noh, and Kabuki works of art. Similarly, J Jazz does not only feature lyrics sung in Japanese or music played primarily using Japanese musical scales.
Of course, some J Jazz albums here and there may contain some of these (for example, Seiji Endo: Genji Monogatari Volume 1 and Reikan Kobayashi: Gakudan Hitori), but this is not a necessary requirement.
At the same time, characteristics often used to define a genre including instruments, musical patterns and phrases, rhythm styles, and the like are not used here. Traits found in general jazz music are also present on J Jazz albums, including improvisation, sense of swing, blues influences, dynamic drumming varied beyond four-on-the-floor backbeats, and so on.
Given that there are mostly similarities with general jazz music, is there anything in J Jazz that could be identified as unique? Is there something different about the jazz of Japan, or the sound of jazz created in Japan?
Defining Jazz Itself is a Challenge
For both newcomers and seasoned enthusiasts alike, jazz music can be hard to define. Attempts to do so may initially summon the temptation to list qualities, assign groups and sections, draw boundaries, and define rules and checklists. Inevitably, exceptions to the rules multiply, creating complications and confusing the original guidelines. There have been significant changes throughout jazz history, many different sub-genres of jazz, individual musical styles and innovations, and a great number of unique musicians. What about ragtime, Dixieland, big bands, and swing music? Bossa nova and Latin jazz? Jazz/rock fusion? Straight-ahead, bebop, hard-bop, post-bop, contemporary, modern, progressive, free jazz, avant-garde…
On top of this, jazz fans with different impressions and definitions of jazz also span the gamut. Just to pick a few easy generalities, casual listeners may enjoy or even insist on mood-setting instrumental music played as background music at bars or restaurants, while die-hard buffs may memorize and instantly recall obscure details about jazz albums, musician bios, and historical details of famous recordings.
For the average person in this day and age, when jazz itself is not the mainstream genre in many countries, exposure to this seemingly exclusive musical form may be limited. Whether drawn to jazz or not, these potential fans may not have many opportunities to hear or learn about jazz.
So what is jazz? Striving for as brief as possible, one nutshell description could be “Jazz is music which is often characterized by a swing beat and musical improvisation”. This definition is, of course, woefully incomplete (e.g. the swing feel itself is even missing from some modern jazz), but is very brief at least.
Extending this simply: “J Jazz is music from Japan and Japanese musicians which is often characterized by a swing beat and musical improvisation”. But this doesn’t quite capture it all, given that there is so much more to jazz that is difficult to capture in such a brief sentence.
So, a better definition may be “J Jazz is jazz from Japan and Japanese musicians.” It’s short and sweet. But, it could be seen as a facile response that effectively pushes the problem elsewhere, avoiding the challenge of having to define “what is jazz?”. Yet still, it is short and sweet.
What’s Different About J Jazz?
The jazz of Japan can be different from general jazz, or it can be the same. As discussed above, the label J Jazz doesn’t refer to a specific sub-genre of jazz, and there are no specific musical characteristics used to classify an album as J Jazz. The main guideline is whether the album’s leader or musicians are from Japan. In most cases, this also means that the record was created and released in Japan, but this is not a strict rule.
What about the qualities of J Jazz?
Some may initially assume that this is jazz with traditional Japanese elements. Maybe jazz music with culturally J-pop elements like colorful cuteness, or maybe using traditional instruments like wooden flutes and large booming drums (see J Jazz and Traditional Japanese Elements above).
A useful analogy can be made to the term “European jazz”. Along with signifying “jazz made in Europe”, this term may also imply certain musical qualities including lyrical melodies, classical or chamber-music influences, liberal use of free time, and avant-garde playing.
Similarly, jazz records released on the German ECM label may convey “the ECM sound” of spaciousness, ambience, and high-quality audio and production. Of course, such classification limits are not all-encompassing and examples could certainly be found of European jazz with quite different qualities.
What about “American jazz”, or jazz from the USA? Do examples of American jazz share any specific qualities? Soulfulness, swing, groove… authenticity? Can an argument dare to go so far as to call it “authentic jazz”, with credentials of jazz origins based on the different cultures and people contributing and forming genres along the way (and does this mean any jazz made outside of the US is not authentic?) It’s perhaps a risky definition, but perhaps an academic argument could dare to be made.
With that in mind and forgivable caveats begged, some generalized qualities of J Jazz could include:
based on a serious study of past jazz masters and classic recordings
focused on a faithful attention to detail
having a strong reverence for famous players and recordings, sometimes to the extent of reproducing specific sounds, styles, and improvisations
having a larger general audience familiar with jazz music with more performance venues and opportunities to play jazz
often portraying a cultured European jazz sound more than a looser American jazz sound
Interestingly, some of these are also qualities that could be applied to many young musicians studying jazz deeply, who often start off along these same paths of compulsively absorbing and studying the famous recordings and methods of legendary jazz musicians. Perhaps the similarities arise from the reverence and exposure to jazz music in Japan, which seems to be more appreciated, accessible, and familiar to the general public.
As far as any qualitative musical or sound differences generally ascribable to Japanese musicians, there is nothing that is absolutely true across the board, of course. Perhaps the large number of Japanese people who receive classical piano training or receive music education at school results in a larger number of jazz musicians who build on foundations of high technical ability and musical knowledge. Maybe there are inherent cultural and language differences that naturally influence ways of playing music. Can the way of speaking through words influence how one musically speaks through an instrument?
Abstract Tangents
To extend this question further (and perhaps verging on nonsense), listeners may even relate Japanese jazz to common stereotypes of Japanese culture itself. First-time visitors to the country are sometimes impressed by the cleanliness, politeness, modesty, and high standards of levels of service and tradition. Do these qualities extend to their jazz music too? Is the jazz of Japan clean, polite, or modest? It’s an interesting limb to climb out on, and yet…
What about drawing parallels between the Japanese language and jazz? Some say the language is extremely difficult to learn, with subtle contexts impossible to understand deeply without serious training or lived experience. Do these differences in language and linguistic thinking also influence how jazz in Japan is created? What about the differences in pronunciation? Do accents or innate characteristics of vocal production affect how instruments are played or how lyrics are sung and interpreted?
These may be interesting, even objectionable theories, but it’s too easy to get carried away and too far out on a limb.
In the end, what matters is the music. Do the listeners like what they are hearing, and do the musicians like what they are playing? If the answer is yes, then it’s good music.
Final Impressions
Of course, this may all seem quite limited so don’t get the wrong idea. Not all Japanese jazz is the same. While there may be some general impressions that listeners get from a first exposure to Japanese jazz, hopefully, these impressions result in a good time with amazing music in all its varied qualities, leaving listeners wanting to know more and hear more jazz of Japan.
My own impressions of Japanese jazz have been gathered through attending countless live performances as a member of the audience. Often, at many of these events, I’m able to meet and speak with the musicians personally. In addition, I’ve attended many jazz jam sessions, where amateurs and professionals gather to play standard songs together for practice and for fun. Based on these experiences, to the above naturally incomplete list of qualities, I would add these personal impressions: the jazz of Japan is impressive, supportive, humble, challenging, amazing, friendly, and most of all, music that swings, swerves, lifts, surprises, and makes you feel good to hear it.