Swing girls

[Futwick]

Don't know if this has been posted before. Not bad for a bunch of high school chicks--Japanese at that.

[video=youtube;E_ob9I1O1J8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_ob9I1O1J8[/video]

[video=youtube;5jYoJe4IN4U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jYoJe4IN4U[/video]

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

These girls were part of the cast of a 2004 Japanese film called Swing Girls. The concert was part of a promotional tour for the film.

 

[Aristaeus]

WOW according to internet sources these girls reached this level of expertise in only five months, they make it look so effortless.

 

[Jack Armstrong]

The movie is very good, too.

 

[Stearmen]

Wow, what a great day for me, started with a B-17 and four P-51s flying right over me, then the sound of big WWII Radial Engines all day long, and Big Band Swing to top it off, doesn't get much better!

 

[Hercule]

Sorry for the non sequitur but this thread reminded me of the Judi Dench movie, Last of the Blond Bombshells [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220608/].

 

[GHT]

Those young ladies are really good, we have been lucky enough to follow the career of a youngster from about the age of 14. She has blossomed both musically, in the swing style we so love, and physically, I wouldn't be able to sleep nights if I were her Dad. L'il Miss Haley

 

[Tomasso]

I wouldn't be able to sleep nights if I were her Dad. L'il Miss Haley

Yeah, Miss Haley ain't L'il no more.:love:

 

[Fletch]

Don't know if this has been posted before. Not bad for a bunch of high school chicks--Japanese at that.

Japanese people can do anything, as long as they do it in groups.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

According to my Dad when he was in Japan prior to going to Korea, he said that many of the nightclub entertainers in Tokyo could do spot on impressions of Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, and other big names of the day and many of them didn't even speak English.

 

[Futwick]

The Japanese are much more musically astute than Americans. My old instructor was there a few years back and walked into a bar on karaoke night and it was all bossa nova songs. If you wanted to participate, you had to do a bossa nova number. My instructor and I are both bossa nova freaks and he even studied in Brazill and speaks fluent Portuguese, he loves Brazilian music that much. He said he thought he'd died and gone to heaven in this bar. "Can you imagine a bossa nova karaoke night anywhere in the US?" No, I cannot. My instructor is also a huge fan of jazz bassist Eddie Gomez whom he met once. Eddie played for Bill Evans for years and has appeared on many artists albums from Joni Mitchell to John Coltrane to Yes's drummer, Bill Bruford. In spite of his resume and his incredible musicianship, he's virtually unknown in America. In Japan, he's a big star. They love him over there. he has made several excellent albums with pianist Masahiko Satoh and drummer Steve Gadd, recorded in Japan but which aren't even available in the US unless you order them online.

Here in Detroit, there is a gospel choir competition annually and the winners the last few years have been Japanese. Yes, the Japanese do black gospel and are so good that if you close your eyes, you can't imagine the performers could possibly be anything but black Americans. There's also a band in Japan that duplicate the Beatles from dress to the same instruments and amps. When they perform, you can't tell the difference. It's uncanny how much they sound like them. And the biggest attraction in Branson, Mo for years now is a Japanese country fiddler who can play anything and do it behind his back. I have a work contact in the DoD who lives near Branson and I asked about that guy. "Oh, he's still there," I was told, "and he still packs the house, still the biggest attraction. I've seen him a couple of times and he's amazing."

Also, Japan is surrounded by little islets that don't appear on most maps and these islands are counter-culture or alternative culture mini-kingdoms. You have to take a boat to get to them. One island is dedicated to the 50s, another to the 60s, another is bluegrass, another is metal, another is punk, another is 40s, another is jazz, another is blues, another is ragtime, etc. And everybody dresses to suit it and the dress is authentic. One 50s artist went there to perform and said it was like she stepped back in time. When the Japanese do it, they do it right, nothing half-assed. And 50s is the same in Europe which has a hardcore following of 50s devotees who do everything to the nines. Totally authentic.

And double bass is extremely popular in Japan. A far higher percentage of Japanese play double bass than in America and double bass ensembles are common over there and some have reach international renown. In fact, my bass manual--"New Method for the Double Bass" by Simandl--considered the bible among double bassists--is actually printed in English and Japanese text on every page. That's how popular it is in Japan.

I sent those "Swing Girl" clips to my instructor and he wrote back saying they were a lot better than the college swing band that his band opened for a couple of weeks back.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I totally agree. I myself am a big tango fan and one of my favorites is Ranko Fujisawa who became quite a well-known tango singer both in her native Japan and in Argentina.

Ranko Fujisawa -- Yira Yira
accompanied by Miguel Calo and his Orchestra

[video=youtube;ONtY4RymVFU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONtY4RymVFU[/video]

Here's another one I like:

Anna Saeki -- El Dia Que Me Quiera

[video=youtube;vecxpwQF21Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vecxpwQF21Q&list=FLyUcaWtQXNUGP4o2-KwGf0g[/video]

 

[Tomasso]

Japanese people can do anything, as long as they do it in groups.

Oh yeah, then why ain't we speaking Japanese now?

 

[Futwick]

The Japanese have long had ties to South America. There is an enormous population of them in Brazil--the largest outside of Japan. Peru was run by Alberto Fujimori for a long time. Though he has fallen out of favor, his daughter is now popular there. I remember meeting a Japanese girl about 20 years ago who was born in Brazil and had never been in Japan. In fact, Japanese has become the 2nd language of bossa nova partly because so many Japanese artists are popular there but also because there are so many Japanese living in Brazil (and the Brazilians themselves are EXTREMELY musical people). In Hawaii, it's not at all uncommon to run into people who are Japanese and Portuguese. In fact, Iva Toguri (Tokyo Rose) was married to a Japanese citizen named Felipe D'Aquino who was Portuguese and Japanese. The Japanese have their silly fads but in the end they are very interested in the music of the world. In fact, my eyes just settled on a CD I've had for many years by an East Indian musician named Aashish Khan and the two musicians accompanying him on this purely Indian music CD are both Japanese women--his students. A lot of artists around the world record in Japan who have probably the most state-of-the-art studios in the world. And, of course, swing bands are hugely popular in Japan.

Sanae Nishizawa, a Japanese bossa nova artist popular in both Brazil and Japan:
[video=youtube;khH5FO3yI1o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khH5FO3yI1o[/video]

The Japanese Beatles [The BeaTrips] (these guys speak virtually no English so cut 'em some slack):
[video=youtube;l8Ku8WHPlX0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Ku8WHPlX0[/video]
[video=youtube;xnpdgPShLX8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnpdgPShLX8[/video]

 

[Stearmen]

The Japanese Beatles [The BeaTrips] (these guys speak virtually no English so cut 'em some slack):
[video=youtube;l8Ku8WHPlX0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Ku8WHPlX0[/video]

Wait a second, they don't sound any thing like the Beatles during a concert back in 65! For starters, you can actually hear these Lads.

 

[Edward]

According to my Dad when he was in Japan prior to going to Korea, he said that many of the nightclub entertainers in Tokyo could do spot on impressions of Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, and other big names of the day and many of them didn't even speak English.

Yes, they tend to learn songs phonetically. A few years ago, I saw the 5678s live. Great on record, even better live. They are the three-piece garage-rock band that appear in Tarantino's Kill Bill Part I. The singer, who delivers classic American rock and roll in heavily-accented English, speaks no English at all, learning every song by rote, phonetically. It gives the whole thing such an uuterly primal, animalistic growl - I love it.

 

[SHOWSOMECLASS]

Jazz / swing music is appreciated in other country's. The USA no longer appreciates this music. Its mostly for swing dance people, loungers or back background listening.

 

[Futwick]

The US has lost its appreciation of jazz--period. But they love it in Japan, Europe, Cuba, South America, etc. China is now taking an avid interest in jazz--I personally know several jazz musicians are either went to or are still in China playing jazz.

Wait a second, they don't sound any thing like the Beatles during a concert back in 65! For starters, you can actually hear these Lads.

You're right. I know a couple of people who saw the Beatles at Cobo Arena in Detroit back in the 60s and both said the screams were so loud you literally couldn't hear the music at all and your ears were ringing the next morning. I remember that silly stuff well although I never saw them live. Boy, those Beatlemania days were crazy, weren't they?

This woman rivals Art Tatum:

[video=youtube;6JfKY0K_NQk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JfKY0K_NQk[/video]

 

[Widebrim]

Wait a second, they don't sound any thing like the Beatles during a concert back in 65! For starters, you can actually hear these Lads.

The Candlestick Park concert was broadcast in '66, and even on TV the screams were intense.