Aomori, located 500 miles north of Tokyo, a strong cultural hub as the capital, is roughly equivalent, for example, in scale to Portland, Maine, which lies in the same direction from New York City. After World War II, when the American occupation forces established military rule in Aomori, how did the new “modern jazz” take root there? How did jazz lovers enjoy jazz cafes and live performances? And how did it produce Kei Akagi, who later joined the group of jazz’s “Emperor,” Miles Davis? Similarly, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan—a port of call for the U.S. Seventh Fleet during the Vietnam War—how did it produce the Drum King, Huang Rui-Feng?
The book Echoes of Swing: Translocal Journeys Across the Jazz Scenes of Aomori, Japan, and Taiwan by Yukinari Kimura offers a unique exploration of the social history of jazz in regional Japan and Taiwan, focusing on the translocal connections and cultural ecosystems that shaped the jazz scenes in these areas. It combines auto-ethnography, historical documentation, and interviews to reconstruct the life stories of key individuals who contributed to the development of jazz in Aomori, in the cities of Hachinohe, Nango, and Hirosaki; and Kaohsiung in Taiwan.
The book highlights the role of jazz as a cultural force that fosters community, empathy, and dialogue, while also addressing broader themes such as postwar memory, the influence of U.S. military presence, and the evolution of jazz as a global phenomenon. By examining the interplay between local and international influences, the book provides a nuanced perspective on how jazz transcends geographical boundaries and connects diverse communities. It also emphasizes the importance of preserving cultural history and understanding the transformative power of art and music in shaping identities and fostering social bonds.
This is an important attempt at the historical sociology of jazz in Aomori, Japan, and Taiwan—past and present. A long-awaited book for reconsidering jazz as the relationship between autonomous, multiple worlds, distinct from the one-directional globalization and franchising of jazz.
Biography
Yukinari Kimura
I was born in Akita Prefecture, northern Japan, in 1956.
I have traveled extensively—through Nepal, India, and various cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe—and lived in a suburb of New York City in the late 1980s. I hold an M.A. in Language and Society from Hitotsubashi University and work as a freelance historical sociologist.
On the night of the autumnal equinox in 1964, I was on the “Shuhoku Bus” with my grandmother, returning from our seasonal visit to clean the ancestral graves. The driver turned on the radio mounted beside the steering wheel. The first song that came one was The Beatles’ “Please Please Me,” kicking off with its anacrusis and John Lennon’s harmonica intro. That was the start of my musical journey.
It continued with Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young—all, interestingly, Canadian—and was followed by more than half a century of listening to jazz, which began during my high school years. I’ve also spent fifty years immersed in Brazilian music, drawn to the sounds of Cartola, João Gilberto, and Ivan Lins.
This is how I’ve encountered—and stayed with—the music I love.