# Not even a global pandemic can keep jazz musician Haruka Kikuchi from her trombone: Videos, Photo

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2020/05/03/not-even-a-global-pandemic-can-keep-jazz-musician-haruka-kikuchi-from-her-trombone-videos-photo/
- Published: 2020-05-03T14:59:34+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Trombonist Haruka Kikuchi takes to livestreaming to beat the ban on live shows.
A city known for its live music, the COVID-19 outbreak has hit New Orleans hard.
The city declared its first presumptive infection on March 9 and has since seen 
almost more than 6,000 reported cases with more than 300 reported deaths, at the
time of writing.**

The outbreak led authorities to cancel many of the city’s famous festivals, including
the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival that was set to take place between
April 23 and May 3. In an April 17 statement from organizers, the heartbreak was
real: “It takes something truly momentous to interrupt a 50-year New Orleans tradition
as special as the Festival.”

Traditional jazz trombonist Haruka Kikuchi, 33, was set to play the event, alongside
more than 600 other acts. However, her last live performance was at a small bar 
named Buffa’s on March 15.

“I definitely love to play music with the audiences,” Kikuchi says. “I’m a live 
musician, not a studio musician, so I miss the people so much right now. … But everybody
is in the same situation, not only musicians.”

Sheltering in place in an apartment she shares with her husband, pianist Yoshitaka“
Z2” Tsuji, and their 17-month-old son, Kikuchi has done what any artist would and
is exploring new ways of reaching her audience. After all, she has a record to promote—“
Japan: New Orleans Collection Series,” which came out April 1, is a compilation 
that features visiting Japanese musicians performing with their peers in New Orleans.

On March 23, the couple began livestreaming shows from their home via Facebook and
Instagram. The performances are free, though the pair provide information on how
to tip them as well. Their home workspace has a distinctly warm feel, enhanced by
the presence of the couple’s son, who occasionally wanders in and out of the view
while his parents play.

These performances haven’t been without their challenges, however. Kikuchi typically
sticks to playing traditional jazz while Tsuji prefers modern jazz, so they’ve had
to find a middle ground.

“Maybe it’s a good opportunity to play with a musician who has a different style,”
says Kikuchi, looking for silver linings.

Bringing different styles together has been a recurring theme in Kikuchi’s life 
as she has a long history of working to bring the cultures of New Orleans and Japan
closer together through music.

Her passion for jazz began when she picked up her first trombone at the age of 15
in her hometown of Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture. She began learning about the music’s
roots in New Orleans, and took inspiration from Edward “Kid” Ory, a trombonist who
worked with such icons as Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton. While still in 
high school, her music teacher introduced her to Waseda University’s New Orleans
Jazz Club, a group dedicated to the city’s traditional musical style since 1957.

Kikuchi first visited New Orleans in 2009 with friends from the club. It was during
Mardis Gras, a season when the city overflows with costumes, parades and celebration.

“I was so excited,” Kikuchi recalls of her first visit. “I felt like it was my dream
city.”

After returning to Japan, she decided to take it upon herself to realize some of
that dream closer to home. She’d noticed a rise in the number of St. Patrick’s Day
parades across Japan, and judging by the many summer _matsuri _(festivals) it was
clear the Japanese weren’t immune to the kind of outdoor festivities she’d enjoyed
in New Orleans. So, she set out to create a Mardi Gras event in Matsue, Shimane 
Prefecture — a sister city to New Orleans.

In 2013, Kikuchi and her friends hit the streets of Matsue for the first official
Little Mardi Gras celebration. Some changes were made to adapt the festivities to
Japan, such as the celebration occuring in October instead of in the spring. Kikuchi
says the term “Little Mardi Gras” references the event’s child-friendly focus, with
the parade featuring school bands from around the city.

Matsue and New Orleans also have a famous resident in common, writer Lafcadio Hearn
lived in both places and became a naturalized Japanese citizen while in Shimane 
Prefecture.

“I think it was the best city in which to start the Mardi Gras parade,” says Kikuchi,
adding that it continues to be an annual event that she has made multiple trips 
for.

With her “Japan: New Orleans Collection Series,” Kikuchi continues to try to bridge
the gap between her birthplace and her new home. The latest release compiles material
from a series of EPs that stretches back to 2016. The premise behind the series 
is that when her Japanese friends visit her in New Orleans, she gets them to take
part in a jam session with some locals.

“Many Japanese music lovers or Japanese musicians love New Orleans music, but they
have so many problems with the language,” says Kikuchi. “Making music together is
sometimes so helpful in understanding each other.”

Coming in at almost an hour with 11 different tracks, the compilation highlights
the bonds Kikuchi maintains with Japan. Clarinetist Makiko Tamura, who features 
on the track “Give It Up,” went to the same high school as Kikuchi. She is also 
an alumna of Waseda’s jazz club. Trumpeter Mitch Yasuda, who performs on “By and
By,” has been an influence on both Kikuchi and her husband. Kikuchi says she first
saw Yasuda in a jazz movie while still a high school student (“I was thinking, ‘
Wow, that trumpet player is a real jazz musician’”), and attended his gigs when 
she was in college.

Yasuda was friendly with Kikuchi’s husband, and played a part in convincing him 
to move to New Orleans over New York in 2010. Since 2012, Tsuji has been playing
piano for jazz group Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers. The couple had planned
to reunite with Yasuda and the other Japanese artists on “Japan: New Orleans Collection
Series” in May, but the coronavirus pandemic has put that tour on ice as well.

Until then, Kikuchi’s album provides the sort of pick-me-up that those weary of 
stay-at-home orders will appreciate. And on her YouTube channel, [Kikuchi’s most recent video](https://youtu.be/RdVLLS-kwfI)
is one of her walking into her yard, sweeping leaves and delivering a jazzy burst
on her trombone as a way to thank health care and other essential workers. It goes
to show that although festivals may need to be canceled, New Orleans won’t be silenced.

![](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.japantimes.2xx.jp/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/np_file_4858-
870x580.jpeg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1)

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