Your guide Joshua Breakstone for clubs in Japan

In 1986, I was contacted by Victor/JVC Records about coming to Japan to help promote a recording I had done for my then American record company, Contemporary Records (Echoes, with baritone sax great Pepper Adams, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Keith Copeland) and which Victor/JVC had bought the rights for release in Japan. Up until that time, I had never thought, considered, or fantasized about coming to Japan. But I indeed came and was fortunate to be taken to The Sub Club, a jazz spot in Osaka, where I played with the house bassist, Nishiyama Mitsuru, who also happened to be the club's owner and a promoter of jazz tours. Shortly after we had played together for the first time, Nishiyama-san asked me if I would come back to Japan for a tour, and so I found myself back in Japan six months later for the first of what would be more than 60 tours over 30 years.

Over the course of the time during which I came to Japan twice every year, I played and toured with Nishiyama-san's groups as well as with my own groups. Over time I also began touring all over the country with some of the giants of the Japanese jazz world- Hino Terumasa, Nakayama Eiji, Kobayashi Yoichi (leader of the Japanese Jazz Messengers), and others. And during the course of those many years I recorded as a leader for Contemporary Records, as well as for Capri Records, Doubletime Records, I also did four recordings for the Japanese label, King Records, with such jazz legends as Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron, Jack McDuff, Pepper Adams, Jimmy Knepper, Ray Drummond, Dennis Irwin, Mickey Roker, Kenny Washington, and others.

In 2016 I received an artist residence visa and began working with a Kobe based company, Apple Guitars. Although I had the right to live in Japan, I used the visa only to come back and forth to and from Japan for tours. But in 2018 I made the move to Kyoto.

Although I live in what is called Kansai- the area which includes Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara- since 2018 I have performed and conducted workshops all over Japan including four or five extensive tours yearly to: Kyushu (Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Oita, Beppu, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Saga, and others), Shikoku (Takamatsu, Sakaide, Marugame, Matsuyama, Tokushima and others), Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, Okayama, Himeji, Okazaki, Tsu, Yokkaichi, Nagoya, Gifu, Kanazawa, Kaga, Matsumoto, Niigata, Toyohashi, Hammamatsu, Fuji, Yokohama, Tokyo, Sapporo- and many small towns in between!

For a detailed discography please click here


JAZZ Tours KYOTO /JAZZ Tours JAPAN		Tour Description	About Your Guide

Joshua Breakstone	With 22 recordings as a leader with such jazz legends as: Kenny Barron Barry Harris Tommy Flanagan Pepper Adams Jimmy Knepper Jack McDuff Mickey Roker Al Harewood Joshua Breakstone has established himself as one of the major jazz guitarists of our day. He has been touring in Japan twice a year for the past 36 years, has recorded 4 CDs as a leader for the Japanese King Records label, and posesses a thorough understanding of the Japanese jazz scene. Joshua is also the author of Jazz Etudes: Studies For The Beginning Improviser, a standard text at many colleges and universities, and has both performed and presented workshops throughout the world.
In 1986, I was contacted by Victor/JVC Records about coming to Japan to help promote a recording I had done for my then American record company, Contemporary Records (Echoes, with baritone sax great Pepper Adams, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Keith Copeland) and which Victor/JVC had bought the rights for release in Japan. Up until that time, I had never thought, considered, or fantasized about coming to Japan. But I indeed came and was fortunate to be taken to The Sub Club, a jazz spot in Osaka, where I played with the house bassist, Nishiyama Mitsuru, who also happened to be the club's owner and a promoter of jazz tours. Shortly after we had played together for the first time, Nishiyama-san asked me if I would come back to Japan for a tour, and so I found myself back in Japan six months later for the first of what would be more than 60 tours over 30 years. Over the course of the time during which I came to Japan twice every year, I played and toured with Nishiyama-san's groups as well as with my own groups. Over time I also began touring all over the country with some of the giants of the Japanese jazz world- Hino Terumasa, Nakayama Eiji, Kobayashi Yoichi (leader of the Japanese Jazz Messengers), and others. And during the course of those many years I recorded as a leader for Contemporary Records, as well as for Capri Records, Doubletime Records, I also did four recordings for the Japanese label, King Records, with such jazz legends as Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron, Jack McDuff, Pepper Adams, Jimmy Knepper, Ray Drummond, Dennis Irwin, Mickey Roker, Kenny Washington, and others. In 2016 I received an artist residence visa and began working with a Kobe based company, Apple Guitars. Although I had the right to live in Japan, I used the visa only to come back and forth to and from Japan for tours. But in 2018 I made the move to Kyoto. Although I live in what is called Kansai- the area which includes Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara- since 2018 I have performed and conducted workshops all over Japan including four or five extensive tours yearly to: Kyushu (Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Oita, Beppu, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Saga, and others), Shikoku (Takamatsu, Sakaide, Marugame, Matsuyama, Tokushima and others), Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, Okayama, Himeji, Okazaki, Tsu, Yokkaichi, Nagoya, Gifu, Kanazawa, Kaga, Matsumoto, Niigata, Toyohashi, Hammamatsu, Fuji, Yokohama, Tokyo, Sapporo- and many small towns in between! For a detailed discography please click here
With one of the great bassists in Japan, Nishimura Daiki. This was taken at Sometime in Tokyo, my favorite Tokyo livehouse with an amazing atmosphere and home of multiple live recordings (including one by guitarist Barney Kessel).	With Suzuki Yoshio (Chin Suzuki) taken at our duo concert at Lydian in Tokyo. Chin-san lived for many years in New York playing with Stan Getz, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and many others. He is one of the leading lights in Japanese jazz.
This photo was taken with one of my favorite vocalists in Japan, Setsuko Kobayashi, at Cafe Jam in Fukuoka (Kyushu).	This is the great singer living in Osaka, one of my very favorites in Japan, Ito Aiko, who lived in NY for many years in the same building as pianist Bill Evans.

Kenny Barron Barry HarrisTommy Flanagan Pepper Adams Jimmy Knepper Jack McDuff Mickey Roker Al Harewood

Kenny Barron
Barry Harris
Tommy Flanagan
Pepper Adams
Jimmy Knepper
Jack McDuff
Mickey Roker
Al Harewood