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Hatano Jazz Band

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Hatano Jazz Band (Japanese: Hatano Orchestra ハタノ・オーケストラ) was a Japanese band founded by graduates from Tokyo Music School in 1912.[1] The leader of the band was Fukutarō Hatano[1][2] who went on to become a songwriter. Although some described it as the first Japanese jazz band,[3] Hatano himself stated that he had "never had much to do with jazz".[2] Hatano (cornet and violin) co-founded the band with a cellist, banjoist, accordionist and drummer, and it played aboard the trans-Pacific ship, the Chiyo Maru.[4] On stopovers in San Francisco, the musicians were exposed to different forms of music, which they took back to Japan.[4] "Within five years the Hatano orchestra had 12 members, mostly string players."[4] Hatano recalled the dance music they played in Japan in 1921: "we played fox trot, one-step, and two-step scores, which I'd bought in America, as they were. Nobody knew anything about ad-libbing yet".[5]

History

[edit]
  • 1912: The band performed on the Chiyo Maru steamship from Yokohama to San Francisco.
  • 1915: They played accompaniments to silent films.
  • 1918: The band became popular and played during film intermissions.[1]
  • 1922: Fukutarō Hatano organized a larger orchestra.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Toru Mitsui, ed. (2014). Made in Japan: Studies in Popular Music. Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 9781135955342.
  2. ^ a b Atkins 2001, p. 53.
  3. ^ Simon Broughton; Mark Ellingham; Richard Trillo, eds. (2000). World Music: The Rough Guide. Vol. 2. Rough Guides Ltd. p. 147. ISBN 9781858286365.
  4. ^ a b c Lash, Max E. (23 December 1964) "Jazz in Japan". The Japan Times. p. 5.
  5. ^ Atkins 2001, p. 287.

Bibliography

  • Atkins, E. Taylor (2001). Blue Nippon: Authenticating Jazz in Japan. Duke University Press.