In early December, a reception for Isetan customers was held at a hotel in Tokyo. New York-based jazz trumpeter Takuya Kuroda took to the stage. Just before embarking on a Japan tour to promote his new album, "Zigzagger," released in September, we spoke with Kuroda about the behind-the-scenes stories of the album's production and how he spends Christmas.



--"Zigzagger," released about two and a half years after your previous album, "RISING SON," was self-produced by Kuroda, and it seemed like a completely different style. How did you go about producing the album?

Kuroda: Compared to last time, I had more time this time, so I was determined to pursue my own compositions and the music I wanted to make to the fullest. Before the actual studio recording, I had the band members listen to the demos I had made, and that helped me solidify the overall image of the album.



--How did you create the colorful jacket photo?

Kuroda: I had my friend, Hassan Hajjaj, a photographer from Morocco, take the album cover photo. I've done photos of people standing there looking cool with trumpets in my past works, so I wanted a photo with more impact that would make people think, "What is this!?" He also prepared the costumes, which led to this eccentric jacket. The music on this album is funky and edgy, so I think the cover art is a continuation of that. In New York, I have a lot of friends who are stylists, photographers, and designers, so they're always there to help me. I feel like I'm really blessed with such a great team.


--How do you spend Christmas and the New Year?

Kuroda: I'm usually working around Christmas, with tours and live shows. I go back to my hometown for New Year's and spend it there. There's a jazz club in Kobe, where I was born and raised, and every year on the 31st, we play a live show at their countdown party. I was in a jazz big band in middle and high school, and quite a few of the members have gone professional, so when we all come back to play shows, it's quite an impressive lineup (laughs).


--What Christmas song would you recommend? Kuroda: It's Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas." I don't really like Christmas songs because I think of them as seasonal. But I've always liked this song, and when I arranged it and performed it in my own style, it felt right. Kuroda says that with "Zigzagger," he was able to create a relaxed sound that was uniquely his own. One of his favorite songs is the ninth track, "Good Day, Bad Habit." He'll be appearing at the music event "Station LIVE in Shinjuku" at 8 p.m. on December 23rd at Suica Penguin Square outside the New South ticket gates of Shinjuku Station. Why not spend a Christmas night listening to some wonderful music?

辻 あい子