Takuya Kuroda -- Moody

 

It's amazing for anyone who's been exploring the development of the Japanese language over the past several decades and the melding of examples of foreign languages into it. There is the term kehshii（ケーシー） that is the Japanese term for the white coat that doctors wear which was named for the famous American medical TV series "Ben Casey". Then, there is the outmoded device known as the beeper which was once called a pokeberu（ポケベル）, a uniquely Japanese form of portmanteau smashing together "pocket" and "bell".

One of my favourites though is "moody". Of course, in English, we use it to describe folks who perhaps shouldn't be approached because they are overly sensitive and get upset at the drop of a hat. In Japanese, though, the same expression exists but in this case, it's used for places like bars and restaurants (I usually envisage low lighting) which have a certain refined atmosphere, and so people might actually approach those establishments.

"Moody" is also the title for a track on a September 2020 album by jazz trumpeter and arranger Takuya Kuroda（黒田卓也）, "Fly Moon Die Soon". Looking at the cover of the album, I could be found guilty of mistaking the musician for being R&B singer Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）, and eerily enough, both artists share the same initials. Anyways, "Moody" elicits some aural memories of early 1970s soul although the album is probably more on the fusion side of things. 

The Hyogo Prefecture-born Kuroda first got into music via his high school band and then frequented jam sessions in Kobe before heading Stateside to attend Berklee College of Music. He then studied jazz and contemporary music at College of Performing Arts of The New School and got his degree in 2006. Up to this point, he has released seven of his own albums.