A bit early, but congratulations on Shinjuku Pit Inn’s 60th anniversary! 1965 was the year the bombing of North Vietnam began, the Izanagi economic boom started, Malcolm X was assassinated, and I turned two. It was the year I resolved inwardly, “In four or five years, I’ll have to start helping out at the bar my family runs.” That’s why I’ll never forget it. With new releases like Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ and Miles’ ‘ESP’ hitting the market, it was a hardcore year, wasn’t it?

At Pit Inn’s 50th anniversary, when Hisato Aikura passed away, I stepped in as the MC at the cultural center. The seniors gave me looks like, “Why the hell are you hosting?” I was subjected to such icy stares that I vowed in my heart, “I’ll kill every last one of you”—a youthful folly, haha. Ten years have passed since then. I think I’ve grown up a little.

Or rather, from 1965 to 60. A lot happened in the Japanese jazz scene, too. I deeply respect all my seniors, both those in heaven and those on earth. Could those senior musicians back in 1965 have ever imagined a world where people from their twenties to their nineties remain active, like in the world of Noh and Kyogen? And what would those seniors, who were still in their twenties or thirties back then, think if they could see the future sixty years later—that is, this year?

“Right now” is always the most hopelessly desperate moment, and always the most hopeful one. Compared to the past or future, how bitter is the “right now”? I wonder if jazz, more than any other music, is the music for savoring that bitterness to the fullest.

Thanks to your generous support and kind guidance, it’s been about 20 years since a good-for-nothing prodigal son like me in the jazz world was given the “Year-End Three Days” slot. There are two programs that we have continued since the very first time: “Duo with Otomo Yoshihide” and “Duo with Yosuke Yamashita.” Pit Inn Manager Suzuki told me, “ Why don’t you do those two programs at the cultural center?” and I was like, “Huh? We’re doing that?  lol. Those closed-room programs make me sweat.” But the Japanese jazz scene has aged considerably, and it’s been ages since anything riot-like happened. So, I plan to get heckled, make people think hard, move them to tears, or infuriate them to death—basically, I intend to unnecessarily raise everyone’s blood pressure and shorten their lifespans—for the Japanese jazz fans who come to the cultural center.

Instead, this year’s 3DAYS event at the end of the year will be even more intense. Otomo Yoshihide and Yosuke Yamashita are Japan’s greatest jazz musicians, but this year, instead, I’ll be performing as a jazz pianist with a piano trio and also doing a solo performance using generative AI. You’re probably thinking, “Huh? What did you just say?”

– Naruyoshi Kikuchi

12/2(tue) 24(wed) 25(thu)

Open19:00 start19:30
Advance ticket:5,500 yen Ticket on the day:6,050 yen (Both one drink included)

◎Tickets will be on sale at Ticket Pia（https://t.pia.jp） and Shinjuku Pit Inn (store sales only from 11:00 AM) from 11/2 (sun).

*Only on the first day of the ticket sales, one customer can buy up to two tickets for each concert day.

P-code:311-631

2th Naruyoshi Kikuchi Quintet

Naruyoshi Kikuchi (sax, vo), Masaki Hayashi (p), Yosuke Miyajima (g), Yuka Konishi (b), Shu Akimoto (ds)

24th Naruyoshi Kikuchi Trio
Naruyoshi Kikuchi (sax), Takashi Sugawa (b), Shu Akimoto (ds)

25日 Naruyoshi Kikuchi Solo
Naruyoshi Kikuchi (sax, p, voc, sabal, rap)