An interview with the Japanese violinist Sotaro Kitatoko（北床宗太郎）
Django Festival Tokyo 2017
2017年9月23日
We are very honored to have had the opportunity to interview the Japanese violinist
Sotaro Kitatoko（北床宗太郎）。
> 王慧思 （Eliza Wong）, Chris Lui
It’s been 20 years since the great violinist Stéphane Grappelli passed away. As a violinist, among those masterpieces of the master, which one is your favorite? Who inspired you most?
My favorite song is “Night and Day”. Besides Stéphane Grappelli, I was also deeply inspired by Tim Kliphuis and Christian Howes. I started to learn the classical violin when I was an elementary school student. It was not until 17 years ago that I decided to study jazz violin.
In Asia, gypsy jazz violinists are a minority compared to the gypsy jazz guitarists. In your opinion, when it comes to study, what’s the biggest challenge for a violinist ? Many people are afraid of improvisation, they just don’t know where to start, can you share with us some of your learning tips ?
It’s a very fundamental thing to understand the traditional music in order to learn the techniques you need. Then, if you want to learn how to improvise, start with something simple, like “Fly Me To The Moon” for instance, as everybody is familiar with the melody of this song. You can begin to play the song in the key of C major, just try to change the melody freely, then you can gradually proceed to practice the chord progressions.
It’s a very fundamental thing to understand the traditional music in order to learn the techniques you need. Then, if you want to learn how to improvise, start with something simple, like “Fly Me To The Moon” for instance, as everybody is familiar with the melody of this song. You can begin to play the song in the key of C major, just try to change the melody freely, then you can gradually proceed to practice the chord progressions.
For the beginners that are interested in learning gypsy jazz violin, where can they find a place to learn this genre of music in Japan?
Jazz Violin Direction Japan is a group that I created to provide online lessons for string instruments players (violin, viola, cello, contrabass). There you can learn jazz music and how to improvise on your instrument. We also have jam sessions all around Japan on a regular basis. It’s also part of our program to incorporate international musicians to exchange their experiences with our students. For example, we’ve been working closely together with Tim Kliphuis who also has online courses taught in English on our website. Many young people contacted me by internet. It has also come to my notice that some musicians that didn’t have previous knowledge of Gypsy jazz came to the Django Festival Tokyo. So I think the gypsy jazz community is prosperously growing.
Jazz Violin Direction Japan is a group that I created to provide online lessons for string instruments players (violin, viola, cello, contrabass). There you can learn jazz music and how to improvise on your instrument. We also have jam sessions all around Japan on a regular basis. It’s also part of our program to incorporate international musicians to exchange their experiences with our students. For example, we’ve been working closely together with Tim Kliphuis who also has online courses taught in English on our website. Many young people contacted me by internet. It has also come to my notice that some musicians that didn’t have previous knowledge of Gypsy jazz came to the Django Festival Tokyo. So I think the gypsy jazz community is prosperously growing.
What’s your most recent achievements?
Actually , I just released my first gypsy jazz album. This time, I worked with the French guitarist Bruno Gil who now lives in Japan, the bassist Toshiya Nishimura, and the composer Ken Kawamura who also plays a very special kind of instrument called “Accordina”. We reinterpreted several classic songs, and the album cover was shot in a very famous and historical mansion which is located in Matsudo City in Chiba Prefecture. This mansion (TOJO-TEI HOUSE 戸定邸), originally built by the Tokugawa family who once governed Japan in the past, is a valuable cultural property. The place where we stood on is exactly the same place that music was played by musicians of different generations. We’re really honored to have the chance to shoot our album cover there, it has the meaning that the origin of our music is derived from the classic, and with the newly added elements from the modern society, we pass on our tradition to the next generation.
Actually , I just released my first gypsy jazz album. This time, I worked with the French guitarist Bruno Gil who now lives in Japan, the bassist Toshiya Nishimura, and the composer Ken Kawamura who also plays a very special kind of instrument called “Accordina”. We reinterpreted several classic songs, and the album cover was shot in a very famous and historical mansion which is located in Matsudo City in Chiba Prefecture. This mansion (TOJO-TEI HOUSE 戸定邸), originally built by the Tokugawa family who once governed Japan in the past, is a valuable cultural property. The place where we stood on is exactly the same place that music was played by musicians of different generations. We’re really honored to have the chance to shoot our album cover there, it has the meaning that the origin of our music is derived from the classic, and with the newly added elements from the modern society, we pass on our tradition to the next generation.
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Reservados todos los derechos – All rights reserved – 版權所有 – 版权所有; An interview with the Japanese violinist Sotaro Kitatoko（北床宗太郎）Django Festival Tokyo 2017 copyright Jazzespresso 2017.
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Jazzespresso is a jazz magazine, but also a website, a network, a hub wishing to connect the different souls of the jazz world: American, European, Asian, Australian and African. A multicultural reference point in English, Chinese and Spanish language for the lovers of this music in every Country, who want to be updated about what is happening all around the world… Stay tuned.
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ABOUT US / 關於我們 / 关于我们 / NOSOTROS
Jazzespresso es una revista de jazz y también un sitio web, una red, un centro que desea conectar las diferentes almas del mundo del jazz: americano, europeo, asiático, australiano y africano. Un punto de referencia multicultural en lengua inglesa, china y en castellano para los amantes de esta música en todos los países que quieren estar al tanto de lo que está ocurriendo en todo el mundo. Manténganse informados!
Jazzespresso is a jazz magazine, but also a website, a network, a hub wishing to connect the different souls of the jazz world: American, European, Asian, Australian and African. A multicultural reference point in English, Chinese and Spanish language for the lovers of this music in every Country, who want to be updated about what is happening all around the world… Stay tuned.
Jazzespresso 不只是一個爵士樂雜誌，也是一個能將擁有各種不同精髓的世界爵士樂，包括美洲、歐洲、亞洲、澳洲及非洲各地，互相連結起來的網站及交流站。以中文及英文寫成的內容將是一個新的多元文化交流的參考點，為各地的爵士音樂愛好者提供來自全世界最新的消息。請持續關注！
JazzEspresso 不只是一个爵士乐杂誌，也是一个能将拥有各种不同精髓的世界爵士乐，包括美洲、欧洲、亚洲、澳洲及非洲各地，互相连结起来的网站及交流站。以中文及英文写成的内容将是一个新的多元文化交流的参考点，为各地的爵士音乐爱好者提供来自全世界最新的消息。请持续关注！
Info: info@jazzespresso.com; Advertising / 廣告 / 广告 / Publicidad: adv@jazzespresso.com.
