History

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 4, “History,” uses the notion of storytelling to consider the ways in which Japanese migrant musicians negotiate the jazz canon as a “musical border” in their performances. Building on recent debates about the marginalization and audibility of Asian American musicians in jazz scholarship, the chapter considers the relationships of several New York–based Japanese musicians to the African American jazz tradition. It then provides an analysis of a performance by the Kenji Yoshitake Trio at the Japanese-owned Tomi Jazz club, to show how musicians reflect these relationships in their playing. Finally, it considers how these musicians evoke the African American history of jazz while negotiating demands for originality, sonic identity, and “freedom.”