|
A Glimpse into Okinawan Jazz History in the Post-war WWII Period and Filipino jazzers’ Role in its Development
A posting on the Pinoy Jazz Yahoo Group April 22nd about an on-line article in The Christian Science Monitor about the jazz scene in Okinawa notes the importance of Filipino jazz musicians to the scene. Entitled Time has stopped in Okinawa's jazz clubs by Roger House, a contributor to The Christian Science Monitor.
The article is significant for three reasons: (1) it points up the long history of jazz on the island (located on the southern tip of Japan) since the end of World War II, (2) cites the role of Filipino jazz musicians in the development of jazz in Okinawa, and (3) references a Japanese film, Out of this World- Club Occupation Army by Junji Sakamoto released in 2004.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0420/p14s02-trgn.html?s=u
Jazzphil has researched the URLs of the film’s website and has taken the liberty of displaying several publicity images from the web site below with links to the website where Internet mavens and movie buffs with broadband connections can download various versions of the film’s trailer.
The film’s website: http://www.konoyo.jp/ and of it’s distributor, Shochiku Films: http://www.shochikufilms.com/cannes/outofthisworld.html
 
Blurb about the 123-minute film, Japanese-English with English subtitles:
In Occupied Japan jazz was the pulse of peace
In World War II Japan, jazz was strictly banned as enemy music. Some musicians defied the taboo, sneaking into closets to listen to beloved records, while others silenced the forbidden riffs in their hearts and volunteered as kamikaze pilots. When the Pacific War finally ended, Japan had been reduced to ashes. U.S. Occupation troops streamed into the conquered nation bringing many things with them: democracy, Coca Cola, and … jazz. The Occupation brought this uniquely American music back to Japan with vitality and force.
Set against the chaos and hope of the early postwar period, Out of This World tells the story of five young Japanese musicians who exchange their weapons for instruments, seizing the chance to play jazz at American military clubs. There, under the watchful eye of a bemused sergeant, they build a grudging friendship with an angry GI, who is also a gifted sax player.
Director Sakamoto Junji explores an era shaped by war and music through the eyes of these young Japanese musicians as they learn to accept their former enemies as friends and to make America's indigenous music their own.
Peter Mullan and Shea Whigham join a gifted Japanese ensemble Five of Japan's top young actors who portray the Lucky Strikers, the jazz musicians at the center Out of This World.
Hagiwara Masato, a Sakamoto regular since Tekken (1990), portrays tenor saxophonist and bandleader Hirooka Kentaro. Fresh from the success of Kurosawa Kiyoshi's Bright Future (2003), Odagiri Joe appears as drummer Ikeshima Shozo. Matsuoka Shunsuke, who established a strong presence with performances in T.R.Y. (2002). and Unloved (2002) joins the cast as bassist Hirayama Ichijo. Murakami Jun, known for embodying characters with unique worldviews in films such as Nabbie's Love (1999) is pianist Ono Akira. Mitch, a professional trumpeter based in New Orleans, makes his film debut as Asakawa Hiroyuki. These talented young actors are joined by Maeda Aki of Battle Royal (2000), Claude Maki of Brother (2000), Sho Aikawa of Dead or Alive Final (2001), and Ren Osugi of Hana-bi (1997). Shea Whigham, who made his debut in Joel Schumacher's Tigerland (2000) and won critical acclaim for his performance in All the Real Girls (2003), plays the GI sax player, Russell. Acclaimed actor/director Peter Mullan joins the cast as Jim, the sergeant who manages the Enlisted Men's Club where the Lucky Strikers perform. Mullan received Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his work on My Name is Joe (1998) and won the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion as director of The Magdalene Sisters (2002).
Jazz standards used throughout the film: Under Tachikawa Naoki's deft musical direction, Out of This World draws on dozens of famous jazz standards, Mona Lisa, Take the "A" Train, Sentimental Journey, and Danny Boy, weaving their familiar melodies through the richly textured story. Mr. Tachikawa's previous credits include Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern (1991) and Hou Hsiao-Hsien's A City Of Sadness (1989). In developing his screenplay, Sakamoto sought advice from Uchino Jiro, the former producer of the Club Shinchugun concert series, which featured performances by Japanese musicians who had played at Officers' and Enlisted Men's Clubs during the U.S. Occupation. In a tribute to the real life musicians, Out of This World's end credits roll over the documentary footage of the final concert in that series.
[Editor’s note: Obviously, in Out of this World there are many parallels to the experience of jazz in the Philippines during World War II and the post-war periods. Unlike the Japanese-Okinawan experience, Filipinos had long-embraced jazz music, and therefore, did not have to confront and overcome taboos established against practicing this art form as was the case in post-war Okinawa. Nevertheless, the Jazz Society will endeavor to obtain a copy of this film with the objective of screening the film at a future Jazzphil meeting. If anyone knows where a copy of this film can be obtained, please contact Collis Davis.]
|
