Little Virtuoso Sing-along Cd Player

[Jessica Wilson]

HiroyaTsukamoto may play the guitar with the skill of a virtuoso, and he may write compelling music that draws from many different cultures and genres, but if I had to choose one word to describe him it would be orchestrator.

Originally from Kyoto, Japan, and now based in New York, Tsukamoto began composing long before he even picked up a stringed instrument. And when he did, it was the five-string banjo, not guitar, that first captured his imagination. But finding Kyoto a barren landscape for the banjo, the then teenager switched first to acoustic and then electric guitar, eventually coming to the United States on a Berklee scholarship.

In his live performances, Tsukamoto moves seamlessly through traditional guitar techniques and tonalities but is just as fluent with unusual and surprising textures and voicings. This is especially true when he uses his looping pedal, where fluid melody will sit atop shimmering arpeggios punctuated by notes so staccato that they produce an effect like pitched percussion.

I played for a couple of years. But I came from a small town back in Japan, so there was no way to find an instructor or other players. And then my friends were playing guitar, so I started, too. I still play banjo a little bit, but not so much.

I think so. I was a teenager. But I had been composing music since when I was in elementary school. I was more interested in writing than simply playing guitar. I was composing with the recorder in the beginning of my elementary school. I really enjoyed creating something original, even though I was not a good player. I was trying to create or produce different sounds or songs as a teenager.

I got an electric guitar when I was in high school. I was more into rock. But at the same time, I was playing acoustic music, so my music was expanding to different genres. I played both solo and in bands with friends.

I think a little bit, because I was used to playing in a group for a long time. And when I was playing electric guitar, I was playing melody, like lead. So when I went back to the solo acoustic, I tried to play the melody in a way that it would stand out more.

It varies. Sometimes I try to sit, and sometimes nothing comes. I spend a lot of time on the road traveling to different places, and sometimes music comes to me while traveling. But I need a guitar or the piano to compose. I need to hear myself.

It was my pleasure to hear Hiroya again recently after no contact or concert here during covid. He is a unique and special presence and his spiritual vibrations fan out from him when he is playing. We feel lucky to know him and his music. Thank you for this article.

Yeah, one of the reasons I dislike child prodigy videos. Pretty good odds that that little virtuoso is gonna ditch that instrument the moment a new shiny hobby comes along. Which makes you wonder how much of this is voluntary.

At jams I have seen mothers/parent drop their children off and use us as a baby sitting service and then go shopping or bar hopping. The problem is a lot of the time the mother/parent is not there to collect their child at the end of the jam session which is a big issue.

But if a kid wants to explore something at a young age, why not?

Who cares if they give it up?

They may come back to it, or move to something else, but you gave them the experience and they are learning what is available and what they are/are not passionate about.

Martin Taylor is one of those musicians that has not only set the bar for solo jazz playing, but has helped define guitar playing. His teachings and methods have influenced players all over the world thanks to his online guitar academy. He has collaborated with the likes of; Stephane Grappelli, Jeff Beck, Chet Atkins, Bill Wyman, George Harrison, Dionne Warwick, Diane Schuur, Jamie Cullum, Tommy Emmanuel, and many others. With countless awards and accolades, Martin continues to impress with every piece of music he creates.

The first music I ever heard was Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, my dad had lots of Hot Club records. He also had a small jazz collection of Count Basie, Ben Webster, Art Tatum, Fats Waller, Eddie Lang & Joe Venuti, lots of early jazz. My mum listened to Stan Getz and also the great singers like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Nat King Cole. My elder brother was a big fan of the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, the Beach Boys, but listened mostly to classical music.

I read that both Hendrix and Segovia had quite the impact on you as a musician when you saw them perform. Can you describe what it was about their performances that effected you as a musician?

Being a self taught musician, not to mention you have been playing since you were 4 years old, you have clearly developed your own style. Can you tell us a little about your practice methods when you first started playing guitar?

Both of our girls absolutely love music. Our 5 year old plays the violin, and loves to sing and dance with her little sister. I was not surprised when the girls both agreed on the Sing-Along CD Player (or karaoke machine as they call it).

A sound choice for long-playing performance, this unit features 45-second antiskip protection, an LCD display, high output speaker, headphone jacks, built in pocket on the back to hold one CD and other child-friendly, standard features. There are even 2 microphones for sing-along fun.

MANDATORY entry: Visit www.cptoy.com by clicking on the CP Toys button above and take a look around. Come back here and tell me what other item a child in your life would love to receive. Remember that by clicking this button you receive a 15% discount off your entire order.

Allan Jaffe settled into a wrought-iron chair in the narrow courtyard behind Preservation Hall, which is perhaps the most understated tourist attraction in the famed New Orleans French Quarter. Out front, under a tiny black sign in the shape of a trombone case, queued patrons pay their $2 and move slowly into the hall -- a starkly plain, darkened-wood room of about 20 by 40 feet. A fortunate few, who arrived at the St. Peter's Street location up to an hour before opening, will sit on benches; the rest will vie for standing room. This place, or rather the distinctly ``New Orleans sound'' that emanates from it, has been at the center of Mr. Jaffe's life since 1961, when the burly Pennsylvanian and one-time prep-school tuba player assumed the task of keeping the then foundering jazz hall open. Nearly a quarter-century later, Preservation Hall is not only open seven nights a week, but its tours -- 150 engagements a year in places as diverse as Des Moines and Moscow -- have left an indelible mark on the world's musical map.

By contrast, the first years after Jaffe and his wife, Sandra, took charge of the hall were a struggle to survive. By the late '60s, however, the bands that play at the hall -- currently four of them -- were on firm economic ground. The problem facing the booking agent now, says Jaffe, is ``not finding work but scheduling the people who want us.''

But commercial success is clearly lowest on the list for Preservation Hall's big, soft-spoken owner. Jaffe's personal manner carries not a hint of the promoter. He is, as the name of his establishment declares, a preservationist. The success of the hall simply confirms what he's always known about the appeal of this kind of music -- the jumping, slurring, throbbing rhythms which now reach the courtyard as the Kid Sheik Band hits its stride. Most important to him, says Jaffe, is the deeply personal satisfaction of knowing the players -- most of whom are in their 70s or older -- and helping to keep their art alive. ``It's everything I always wanted to do and then some,'' he says reverentially.

Mr. Jaffe rests a foot on a nearby patio table, thinks for a moment, then recalls an observation from a tourist after listening to a Preservation Hall group during the city's recent French Quarter Festival: ``It's remarkable how the band and your audience all fit together.''

There's nothing ethereal or intellectual about this brand of jazz, he adds. Band members -- including Jaffe himself, whose tuba playing has long helped lay down the beat for the Percy Humphrey ensemble -- just want to ``see if they can make 'em shake.'' That's the measure of success: the listeners' response. And success is tasted every night at the hall, he says with a smile, as the clapping, cheering, and occasional sing-along from that packed little room attest.

As an increasing number of the players in the hall's four ensembles -- the Percy Humphrey Band, Kid Sheik Band, Kid Thomas Band, and Olympia Brass Band -- approach their eighth decade, are other generations of artists committed to the traditonal sound coming along?

But there are some clear notes of hope concerning this question of perpetuating the New Orleans sound. For one thing, this is still a city where music reigns supreme. ``In other towns, kids want to be firemen or policemen, but in New Orleans they want to be musicians,'' says Jaffe. He adds that the young musicians understandably want to ``play the music that sells,'' which in recent years has meant rhythm and blues. Preservation Hall, however, has shown that there is a market for traditional jazz, and some young people are getting into it.

Some older musicians are moving back into it too, notes Jaffe. He recalls the first time he ever heard Manuel Crusto, now clarinetist with the Kid Sheik Band. Jaffe, who's white, had been invited to the city's premier black social organization, the Autocrat Club. As the evening reached a high pitch, Mr. Crusto, a virtuoso on a range of instruments, picked up a trumpet and led the band in ``Bourbon Street Parade.'' It was ``electrifying -- absolutely charged the hall,'' says Jaffe. Crusto was playing mostly rhythm and blues then, but 15 years later he was ready to switch back to traditional jazz, and he has been a mainstay at Preservation Hall ever since.

Apart from their playing, many of the hall's musicians take a direct hand in preserving their city's traditional music by tutoring young players eager for a chance to learn from some of jazz's finest. People write ``all the time'' saying they're coming to town and asking to be set up with lessons, says Jaffe. There are always two or three people here as apprentices, he says. The students come from all corners of the globe -- US, England, Japan, Sweden.

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