Jazztronik feat. Giovanca -- Today

 

One of the events that we had during the early 90s with our Japanese club, the JCSA, at the University of Toronto was something called Coffee Night. It was an event that I concocted on Thursday nights between 7 and 10 at the International Student Centre just to provide another excuse for folks in the club to get together and perhaps for people who didn't know much about the club to come in and get to know us. Mind you, in those days, the JCSA schedule was already fairly packed with activities during the week with our English-instructing and Japanese-instructing events through video and then the language exchange on Saturdays. But I had wanted to create a somewhat more relaxed "Cheers"-like atmosphere in the Riddell Room at ISC.

It worked to a certain extent for the few years that I was back in Toronto. We had newbies and semi-regulars come in and out while we had our own coffeemaker and cups and I even brought in my Discman to hook up to some cheap speakers while bringing in some CDs. It was simply another opportunity to enhance our little community.

When I was reading the J-Wiki and Wikipedia articles on this Japanese collective called Jazztronik, I was reminded of my little own Thursday-night kaffeeklatsch within the club since Tokyo DJ, producer and pianist Ryota Nozaki（野崎良太）has been handling this project of his since 1998 without any fixed members. Musicians have been coming in and out for years to jam in on his musical mix of speakeasy jazz, lounge and house.

I've been writing about the 1980s brand of techno-jazz for some time now on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with acts such as Kazuhiro Nishimatsu（西松一博）, Harumi Ohzora（大空はるみ）and most recently, Breakfast Club. I guess with Jazztronik, Nozaki's music is the 21st-century equivalent of this combination of jazz and contemporary dance club. Case in point, there is Jazztronik's 2011 album "Dig, Dig, Dig" and one track is "Today" featuring the silky yet nimble vocals of Giovanca. Hearing this, I can imagine the turntables and hip young DJ with the back-turned cap but with the addition of women in flapper dresses doing the Charleston.

Mind you, in comparison to the 1980s techno-jazz, the synths aren't as heavy and insistent here. It's a little more Fantastic Plastic Machine, more focused on the jazz with some dance beats added. In fact, I'd probably say Jazztronik's material, at least from what I've heard through "Today", is more on that Electro Swing kick that was the thing in Japan in the early 2010s with my favourite example being Café Des Belugas ode to "Puttin' On The Ritz".

(Sorry but the video has been taken down)

Also from listening to "Today", I was also reminded of another NHK vignette program that appears on TV Japan sandwiched between two other shows on Wednesday nights called "Ukiyoe EDO LIFE"（浮世絵 EDO-LIFE） which focuses on a lighthearted analysis of famous Japanese paintings. A number of the YouTube videos have had comments inquiring about who is behind the BGM, and I have been curious as well since it seems to a funkified/jazzed-up take on some classical music. Plus, I'm wondering if the lady performing the rap/scat sometimes is indeed Giovanca which also made me wonder then if Jazztronik was in on this, too. As it turns out, though, the music is provided by someone named U-Key, who is Yuki Kanesaka, also a DJ/producer as well as a professor.