Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending So Hajime Kobayashi’s live performance at Kita-Urawa Paradise Road!
So Hajime Kobayashi is a pianist from Tokyo who masters styles ranging from stride piano to modern jazz. He has contributed to numerous recordings with artists such as Ohashi Trio, Gen Hoshino, AKIKO, Ann Sally, Uri Nakayama, Yuko Ando, Hanaregumi, Sakura Fujiwara, MITCH, Ban Ban Bazar, and Hajime to Oji, among many others.
Since I’ll have the opportunity to work with him later this month due to certain circumstances, I really wanted to introduce myself, so I decided to attend the show. Incidentally, I believe the last time I visited Kita-Urawa Paradise Road was about two years ago when Shoichi Yamada invited me to a performance.
Although I had listened to So’s piano playing many times through videos and recordings, this was my first time experiencing it live. The sound I heard firsthand was incredibly powerful, intensely swinging, and filled with originality—truly an outstanding performance!
During the second set, I had the honor of sitting in and performing about five songs together, including Stompin' at the Savoy, Rose Room, If I Had You, Honeysuckle Rose, and Sweet Georgia Brown. Playing alongside such a distinguished musician had me feeling nervous—my mouth went completely dry! (lol) But I think I was able to express my own style within the performance.
I should have some exciting news to share with you all next month, so please stay tuned!
