Greg Chako - Tokyo Live!

by Greg Chako

supported by

gregchako One of the most beautiful ballads I've ever heard and a powerhouse live performance by top-class jazz players who display keen synchronicity as they communicate with each other through the music at such a high level. Favorite track: All Roads Lead Home.

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

I'm so happy to put this stellar performance out there - it catalogues one of the finest gigs and bands I ever had the privilege of being associated with, and the music is presented in a completely unaltered record of what happened that evening. The digital version is approaching 2 hours of quality jazz, with two Bonus tracks not on the physical CD - the physical copies that will be available very soon contain the maximum music allowed on a CD: 70 minutes. So there's plenty of live music to ENJOY!
Includes 5 Chako originals, plus 2 Cedar Walton tunes, 1 Frank Wess song, and 1 standard (Neil Hefti's Cute)

Purchasable with gift card

$8 USD or more
Full Digital Discography

11

releases

Get all 11 Greg Chako releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Life After 40, Christmas Time - Live in Izu Nagaoka, Yokohama Live!, Yokohama Live!, A Place for Bass - Chamber Jazz Duets, Greg Chako - Tokyo Live!, Paint a Picture, Tell a Story, Where We Find Ourselves, and 3 more. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

$76.80 USD or more (20% OFF)

1.	Hindsight 10:50	buy track
2.	Wave of Love 11:56	buy track
3.	Yamanashi Snow 09:36 video	buy track
4.	All Roads Lead Home 08:30	buy track
5.	Cute 14:06	buy track
6.	Takachan 09:28 video	buy track
7.	Ojos De Rojos 12:58	buy track

about

One of the chief highlights of my live performance experience in Japan was playing with Philadelphian-born drummer Gene Jackson. Gene and I hit it off from the very first downbeat, and to this day, he’s one of my favorite drummers to play with. I had been performing often with Japanese pianist Hiroshi Tanaka when I first met Gene. Hiroshi recorded on two of my albums, Everybody’s Got a Name and Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd. After I brought Gene to Hiroshi’s attention, the three of us began playing together as a core trio. As the only Japanese native of the trio, Hiroshi helped organize gigs and the Japanese sidemen. In 2008, we did two shows that were particularly memorable.

One was March 29th at Yokohama’s Bar Bar Bar, a wonderful jazz club where I was (gratefully) in rotation, and this performance was televised live for a TV show called, Yokohama Sounds. The other was one of my performances at Tokyo’s JZ Brat on June 19th. Both of these shows featured a very receptive audience and a stellar line-up of myself leading on guitar, Hiroshi Tanaka on piano, Gene Jackson on drums, and Canadian bassist Brent Nussey (one of the top bassists in Japan and formerly with Diana Krall) rounding out the quartet.

These performances were special because of the overall quality: the venues were great, the audience was great, and my music was brought to life by some of the best musicians I’ve ever had the opportunity to play with. The chemistry and mutual respect among us on stage is evident. I am gratified that both of these shows were captured on video and will be released on two albums. The first, scheduled for release in early 2023, is of the June ’08 show at JZ Brat and will be titled, Greg Chako - Tokyo Live!

These live recordings capture me in my prime as a performance artist on the Japanese jazz scene and incidentally, are the first records I’ve ever made with the guitar, piano, bass & drums quartet format.

credits

released February 3, 2023

license

about

Greg Chako

In a pro career spanning 40 years and five countries, USA guitarist Greg Chako has released 14 albums and been the subject of a documentary called, “An American Cat in the Lion City.” He lived in the Far East for 17 years, where he evolved into a masterful, expressive composer with rich story telling abilities. His style merges Mainstream, Hard Bop, Latin & World music. ... more

Recommendations

contact / help

Contact Greg Chako

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

Greg Chako recommends:

Prime
by Dave Stryker

I saw Dave play some of this material in person recently, and it's stellar work. His playing & compositions has everything you would want in a guitarist/bandleader. Greg Chako
go to album
Rodney Jones - Sound Explorations - The Mission
by Rodney Jones

Rodney's "explorations" here avoids ALL the typical guitar cliches and sets the current standard for merging modern 4ths-modality with the blues; swinging consistently and drawing you into his world! Greg Chako
go to album
Celebration
by Rufus Reid

Rufus Reid is MY kind of musician - he marries an unmatched resume with uncanny skills as a composer-arranger-bandleader. He is a Masterful artist and I love him! Greg Chako
go to album

If you like Greg Chako, you may also like:

Penelope (in support of World Child Cancer)
by Billy Marrows

All proceeds from this gorgeous chamber jazz LP go to support UK organization World Child Cancer. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 31, 2024
go to album
The Stranger In The Mirror
by Jake Mason Trio

Nostalgic organ trio from Melbourne playing classic blues-tinged soul-jazz. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 6, 2018
go to album
April
by Ideophone

featured on Bandcamp Radio Jan 9, 2024
go to album