His philosophy as a player
part1. 2/3
pix by Misao Soma
His philosophy as a player
I know that anger is not a way to go as a means of expression
. So I want my music to be an entertainment, although it comes from my anger. I want
people to enjoy my music. I want to talk to people's heart with my music. I want
to make people cry and laugh. I don't want people to like my music just because it's
catchy. I want them to find something more in my music. That's my philosophy.
Would you mind if I say in the homepage that you'd like to work with major artists
as an assistant player?
Yes, please. I enjoy working with major artists. I get to extend the reach to people
who wouldn't listen to my music otherwise. People who like jazzy stuff, like the
one I did tonight, come to listen to me or a band that I play in. With these people,
I just need to keep them. But when I work with major artists as an assistant player,
the audience doesn't know me. They are like "Who's that guy?" It's an exciting
process to get people interested in me.
What
made his music what it is
Well, it was 14 or 15 years ago, I made up my mind that violin is what I want to
do and packed up my stuff to come to Tokyo. This Stephan Grappeli that we're hearing
as we speak, he's a jazz violinist. Plays lots of improvisation. His violin has a
French, gypsy flavor. I've loved him ever since I was young. When I came to Tokyo,
I thought there must be a lot of needs of violinists like him. But people told me
there's no violin job except in strings groups who play behind pop songs and stuff.
And it's only those who went to music school that can get a position in those groups.
This made me mad. I wanted to tell them "You don't know anything about violin!".
I was young. I didn't want to compromise. I was determined to go solo. But it was
more than 10 years ago, and I wasn't as good as I am now. It was the time other violinists
who went to music school were getting into popular music industry. They were good,
but their violin sounded like classic music. That wasn't my style. That wasn't what
I think a violin is supposed to sound in jazz, blues, pops, and rock around the world.
I kept my way, but no one recognized me.
Then I started working with Mr. Tsunemi of oud , playing Arabian classic,
which I liked a lot. It wasn't that I started playing Arabian music because I met
Mr. Tsunemi. I had played that kind of music before, I hadn't just been heard. Once
I started working with Mr. Tsunemi, people began to pay attention to me. In Arabian
music, you have half notes and quarter notes. People found it interesting, saying
"this sound can't come from a classic violinist." So I came to be known
for such ethnic violin. It worked well for me. Mr. Umezu got interested in
me because of my ethnic music. But the truth is, I do like ethnic music and that
is my symbol, but it doesn't mean that this is what I want to do ultimately. When
I play with Mr. Tsunemi, he's the main person and I'm supporting him.
I do like it, I do enjoy it, though. But that's not what I want to do. Mr. Tsunemi
and Mr. Yoshimi both know that. Yes, ethnic music is what I'm known for the
most. It's "my" music. Which is ok for now. I do want to, though, stress
that the only reason why I am associated with ethnic music is that it happened to
be the first thing that got noticed. When I think of this, I feel frustrated with
the fact that people are confined to what the media picks up.
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