The start of summer begins with the first round of selection for the Chigusa Award!

Immerse yourself in jazz tonight
File.2: Discovering new talent in the jazz world "Chigusa Award"
(Mayuko Niimura/Jazz Cafe Chigusa)

In 2013, Jazz Cafe Chigusa established CHIGUSA Records to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Mamoru Yoshida. At the same time, the Chigusa Award was established to discover and award outstanding new talent once a year, carrying on Yoshida's desire to "nurture young jazz musicians in Japan."

While there are many long-running jazz competitions across the country, the Chigusa Award may be a young competition, only in its sixth year. However, the purpose of its establishment is a story of Yoshida Mamoru's extraordinary love for jazz and his passionate support for young musicians.

After the war, occupying forces flooded into Yokohama, and American military facilities were built one after another in the city. At the same time, jazz became a huge boom, and the number of young Japanese musicians performing at camps and nightclubs increased dramatically. Chigusa , which always stocked the latest hot records, became a popular hangout spot for musicians.
Eventually, the number of US military clubs decreased, and the number of performance jobs for Japanese band members gradually decreased. As jazz musicians from the United States began to come to Japan one after another, the opportunities for Japanese musicians to perform gradually became limited.
This was becoming a very difficult time for young Japanese jazz musicians who wanted to learn more about the essence of jazz and pursue their own sound.

Meanwhile, Yoshida Mamoru, who watched young, unknown musicians continue to frequent Chigusa , listening intently to records for hours and working hard to play, took care of them in various ways, such as finding venues and organizing concerts. Perhaps he saw himself in these young musicians, who were single-minded and serious about jazz, and pursued his dreams together with them. He was also called an "eccentric," "a stubborn old man," and "scary!" but it is no exaggeration to say that his dedicated work laid the foundation for the development of jazz in Japan.
This passion and love has been passed down and shaped into the Chigusa Award .

Previous recipients of the award include female vocalist Mari Kanemoto in the first year (2013), bassist Sadamu Endo in the second year (2014), flutist Erika Ogawa in the third year (2015), male vocalist Akira Wada in the fourth year (2016), and pianist Takehiro Chiba in the fifth year (2017). All five are incredibly talented young jazz musicians who have continued to achieve great things since winning the award. If Mamoru Yoshida were still alive, he would surely be pleased, even if he had some complaints.

Applications for the sixth round of selection began on July 1st. The second round of selection will be a live performance and is scheduled to be held at Jazz Spot Dolphy in October.

If you think you have the passion for jazz, please apply.

*For details about the Chigusa Award, see below
https://chigusa-records.jimdo.com/