On January 20th, the news site Mynavi News published an article in which they interview Kakeru Tomokawa and Roland Narumi about each of their jazz clubs and their thoughts on participating in the Yokohama Jazz Contest. The pair also answer questions about how they intend to tackle the autumn MM Ensemble Concert, the next challenge they face in Part 2. I’ve translated the interview as it appears in the original article below.
[JAZZ-ON!] Interview with the two leaders! We asked them about their thoughts on jazz.
This might seem out of the blue, but when you think of Yokohama, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Chinatown, Minato Mirai, the exotic cityscape… Some may think of baseball or soccer. However, Yokohama actually has a deep connection with jazz.
Historically prospering as a trade center between other countries, the port city Yokohama has many active jazz listeners and players. In such a place where jazz culture thrives lies an “unusual school.” Its name is “Minatogaoka High School.” This school has two “jazz clubs” called “SwingCATS” and “Hoshikuzu Ryodan.” They both competed in the summer’s Yokohama Jazz Contest as a single team and won the award for excellence. Because of this, they seem to be quite talented.
Today, we’ll be talking with the leaders of these two jazz clubs that have managed to pique our interest so that we may hear more about their thoughts on jazz and behind-the-scenes stories about the summer competition!
So without further ado, let’s get right into it.
The High Schoolers Taking on Jazz: “SwingCATS” and “Hoshikuzu Ryodan.”
——Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.
Tomokawa: Huh?! This is going to be in an article?!
My name is Kakeru Tomokawa. I’m in Year Two Class A at Minatogaoka High School. And hello on the behalf of Rubato, the jazz cafe my grandpa runs! It’s a bit far from Odori Park, but the coffee and curry is to die for, and—
Narumi: Haha, Tomokawa-kun, slow down.
My name is Roland Narumi. I’m from the same school and a second year. Thank you for giving us this wonderful opportunity to talk. I’m happy to be here.
——Wow, you two give off completely different impressions! Now then, please introduce each of the clubs you lead.
Tomokawa: I’m the leader of SwingCATS. I created it with friends I knew since middle school. Our club activities mostly consist of playing music, recommending and sharing videos, or just talking about jazz. After school or during breaks, we all go to the jazz café to have a jam session together.
Narumi: Right after entering Minatomachi High School, as it was known before the merger, I gathered some members and formed Hoshikuzu Ryodan. Besides playing music together, we also harness the power of the web by uploading our videos to our YouTube channel.
Since I used to upload my music to video-sites…I made various acquaintances who now make up part of our club. We’ve also got some other eccentric members. So because of that, aside from during club activities, we don’t always talk about jazz. We also talk about games and anime. Surprisingly enough, we’re probably like your average high school student.
Tomokawa: Hoshikuzu Ryodan, average?! You’ve gotta be kidding! (laughs) When we say we’re high schoolers who like jazz, people say we’re unusual, but we lose to Hoshikuzu Ryodan in that aspect. How should I put it, it’s like their way of thinking is fresh and innovative, or like they’re not bound by common conventions.
—— I see. (laughs) Narumi-kun, what do you think about what Tomokawa-kun said?
Narumi: That’s one of Hoshikuzu Ryodan’s strong points. I don’t think we can match SwingCATS when it comes to pure playing ability and their knowledge and sense of jazz. Other than that, I’m envious of their unity as a “band” and of how well they harmonize together.
Tomokawa: If we’re talking about playing ability, it’s not like we’re any better, is it? I think the fact that everyone in Hoshikuzu has high-level abilities is what allows you to hold your ground while doing things that may potentially ruin a performance if you’re not lucky.
Narumi: Thanks. But you didn’t think that until we played together at the summer competition, right?
Tomokawa: Don’t say that! (laughs) And you, you guys just thought of us as overly serious people, didn’t you?
Narumi: Well, I wonder? (laughs)
“We must win the award for excellence by any means necessary,” — about the turbulent summer competition.
—— The story of the summer competition has been released. Once again, congratulations on winning the award for excellence.
Tomokawa: Thank you! Honestly, getting the award for excellence was just part of the process of keeping our clubs afloat, and I was more than happy to be able to continue doing club activities~
Narumi: I’m not sure what to say… The school told us that if we didn’t win the award, both of our clubs would be combined into the “Jazz Club.”
—— Combined…?! I guess it’s because your schools were merged.
The air conditioner must have been broken that day.
Narumi: That’s right. But as I mentioned before, we’re completely different, from our approach to jazz to what we do in club. That’s why we had to win that award at all costs. The competition was during the summer, so on the first day of the second semester, Tomokawa-kun headed straight to the staff room. I remember the way he looked, his back held straight in an uncharacteristically imposing manner, as he held the award certificate.
Tomokawa: I couldn’t relax at all the night before~ (laughs) I kept checking the tube-thing to make sure the certificate was really in there, and before I knew it, it was already morning! That’s why I don’t remember much about that day. (laughs)
Narumi: I see. (laughs) That day, you declared, “We won the award for excellence! SwingCATS and Hoshikuzu Ryodan will both continue!” with such force, that everyone in the staff room was completely overwhelmed. You thought that if you said it really loudly, then no one would say anything, so the teachers got scared.
Tomokawa: Wait, are you serious? I don’t remember that at all…
Narumi: Of course not, I’m kidding.
Both fun times and hard, a summer chock full of memories.
—— The decision has been made to let each of your clubs continue safely. But now, please tell us about what you enjoyed and what you struggled with when preparing for the summer competition.
(To Fans – You can enjoy the story of the summer competition in Part 1 of the CD series!)
Narumi: The hard part of the competition definitely had to be bringing everyone together. SwingCATS and Hoshikuzu Ryodan together made sixteen people. Although that’s less than the number of people in the brass band, our members each have pretty strong personalities. I think it’s thanks to Tomokawa-kun’s leadership abilities that everyone was able to unite towards a common goal.
Tomokawa: I don’t know about that. During that time, you didn’t do anything leader-like at all, did you? I’m thinking this now, but you didn’t do anything so that everyone would follow me without hesitation, right?
Narumi: Even so, a lot of the members were constantly butting heads.
Tomokawa: Yeah, for real… Yuki and Akitsuki were still at odds with one another until the day before the competition.
Narumi: There was also that time when Teru hit Dojima-kun. And that time when Tomokawa-kun came late to the competition—
Tomokawa: Stooop!! Let’s not talk about that. In the end, it was fun playing with so many people. Oh, SwingCATS also did some summer-like activities. We had a training camp at one of our member’s houses, and we went to a summer festival at the end of practice!
SwingCATS Instagram / Hoshikuzu Ryodan Instagram
Facing the MM Ensemble Concert in the fall.
—— On Instagram, the two groups show parts of their lives up until the summer competition. They gave off a really youthful vibe! In that tournament, the sixteen of you entered. But for the autumn MM Ensemble Concert, the rules require you to enter with a smaller number of people, correct?
Kakeru Tomokawa-san, and Roland Narumi-san
Tomokawa: That’s right! That’s why SwingCATS will be divided into two groups of four, and each group will enter the competition.
Narumi: What a coincidence. Hoshikuzu Ryodan will also enter the competition with two groups of four.
Tomokawa: Really? Wasn’t it hard to divide the team?
At first, we were planning on entering only the early members of SwingCATS, the ones who have been familiar with jazz since middle school. And a certain member has some kind of connection with this competition… That’s also why we decided just the four of us would enter. But then the remaining members said they wanted to form a band and enter too.
Narumi: Was it Ibuki-kun? I remember him being very motivated at the end of the summer competition.
Tomokawa: Yeah, it was. But it wasn’t just Ao who wanted to, everyone felt the same way. As their leader, that made me really happy. It was encouraging to see.
Narumi: That’s wonderful. As for Hoshikuzu Ryodan, we planned on entering in two groups from the get-go. Though I made that decision on my own. I also decided on how the team would be divided so that our eight members can shine at their brightest…
Youth is but a momentary sparkle. You can’t shine your brightest if you’re scared of burning out. There’s a chance neither group will be able to perform satisfactorily at this competition. However, I don’t think there’s a point in taking on this challenge without using this team combination.
Tomokawa: Ever the poet, aren’t you Narumi~? Tell me the team combinations later in secret, okay? (laughs)
—— I plan on reporting on the autumn competition, so I’m looking forward to your performance! Lastly, please tell us what you look forward to in this competition.
Tomokawa: We were able to win the award for excellence in the competition during the summer, but we failed to get first place. So I wasn’t really satisfied… Plus, as I said before, I have a personal attachment to this competition. Since there will be both old acquaintances and veterans participating, I can’t say, “We’ll definitely win!” for sure. But at the very least, I feel like we definitely won’t lose! And it’s not just me, I think the same goes for the rest of SwingCATS.
Narumi: He says that, but he’s only thinking of winning the whole thing. (laughs) Speaking for Hoshikuzu Ryodan, I think this competition is a really big opportunity for us. I’m sorry if it seems like we’re using such a long-standing competition for ourselves, but more than winning or losing, I’m looking forward to seeing what we can learn from this tournament and what we’ll find at the end of it.
—— Thank you, both of you!
JAZZ-ON! Part 2 will have a consecutive release! Don’t miss the youthful story of these high schoolers taking on jazz!
SwingCATS’ Tomokawa-kun is someone who leads by example and inspires the other members. Hoshikuzu Ryodan’s Narumi-kun is hard to understand, but he leads the other members with leadership skills that go beyond those of a regular high schooler.
With two completely different leaders, I’m even more excited to see how all sixteen members of both SwingCATS and Hoshikuzu Ryodan will perform in the MM Ensemble Contest.
The story of the autumn MM Ensemble Contest will be shown in Part 2 of JAZZ-ON! It will release consecutively starting from January 22, 2021. If you buy the mini-album, you can receive a lottery application ticket for the event commemorating the release, so check it out!
(Note: Both mini-albums have now been released. You can find more information on where to buy them here.)
Source: Mynavi News
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