Table of Contents
Introduction
Have you ever been to the Montrose Jazz Festival? No, neither have I. But I have been to Takatsuki Jazz Street more times than I can remember, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable way to spend a day or two away from the big cities in Japan, while chilling out, listening to top quality jazz music by a host of both Japanese and foreign musicians.
What could be better than a two day free jazz festival while you’re visiting Osaka? Do you really want to spend two hours queueing to get into an event? Or would you prefer to just step off the train and start listening to music?
Everybody in Kansai knows that Osaka is the busiest and grooviest and most crowdiest place in Kansai, especially with the opening of the Expo, but what do you do when you want to escape the city, and have a completely different experience?
My advice would be to get yourself, your friends and family on a train to Takatsuki city, halfway between Osaka and Kyoto, where the annual free jazz festival is held. And that’s “free jazz” as in for no money, not the “free jazz” of skronking saxophones found in music such as the later music of John Coltrane and Archie Shepp.
27th Takatsuki Jazz Street
This year is the 27th Takatsuki Jazz Street, held every year in Takatsuki city on the 3rd and the 4th of May, regardless of whether it’s a weekday or a weekend. At this time, Japan will be in the middle of golden week, when many Japanese go back to their home towns and visit with relatives, and a lot of businesses closed down for the week because there are multiple public holidays. This year, the 3rd and 4th of May fall on a Saturday or a Sunday. It only takes 15 or 20 minutes from both Osaka or Kyoto, so it’s really easy to get to.
Over 800 musicians play all over the town, which is basically taken over by the jazz festival with musicians playing in 60 or so different venues, restaurants, bars, even a Shinto shrine, and also outside on large open air stages. And the best part about it is that it is totally free. Yes, you read that right, totally FREE (conditions may apply, please read the small print da di da di da … joke! No conditions apply).
Foreign musicians playing this year
This year the foreign musicians playing include Pierrick Pédron (France saxophonist), Pierre-François Blanchard Thomas Savy Duo (France pianist and bass clarinetist ), Phillip Strange (USA pianist), Pat Glynn (USA double bassist), Harry Allen (USA saxophonist), Jumi Lee (Korea vocalist), Park Raon (Korea jazz vocalist), Hong Soon Dal (Korea saxophonist), Detroit Jazz Festival All-Stars Generation Sextet (USA post-bop six piece)
Japanese musicians playing this year
Notable Japanese musicians playing this year are: Mari Nakamoto (vocalist, releases on the Three Blind Mice label), Yukari Onishi (vocalist, funk and soul), Maki Fujimura (vocalist), Himiko Kikuchi (pianist), Kei Akagi (pianist), Masaki Shinohara (trumpeter), Sino (vocalist)
Getting there
You can catch the train to either Takatsuki station on the JR line or Takatsuki-shi on the Hankyu line, both of them are slap bang in the middle of all the action.
As soon as you get to the either train station, you’ll realise what a huge event it is. Volunteers will be handing out programs, answering questions and selling T-shirts, which is one of the ways in which the festival helps to fund the event.
This writer first went to the festival in 2012, and goes every year when he can. It’s a great way to chill out with your friends for a day when it’s usually quite warm.
What to do about food and drink
Take food and drink with you and have a picnic (don’t forget your blanket or ground sheet), or use the many restaurants and bars. Normally we get off the train, go straight into the nearest supermarket, buy food and the first of many bagfuls of booze, and just start walking around listening to what’s going on. In the open air stage areas, there are also numerous stalls selling beers, cocktails and many different kinds of food both Japanese, and foreign. Prices are not outrageous, but if you’re strapped for cash, take your own. This is not a Disneyland type situation where anybody is going to try and confiscate it.
If you’re not having a picnic outside near one of the main open air stages, you’re likely to be inside a hall, or one of the many bars or restaurants that host events during the festival. If you go into a bar or restaurant to hear a session, it’s polite to buy a drink, usually about ¥500 for a beer or a chuhai. The festival survives on goodwill and generosity, and considering that it’s not necessary to pay for any of the music, it’s far more amiable to spend a bit of your cash supporting the musicians with tips or the shops who enable the festival to happen.
The music is of all genres, mostly jazz related but not exclusively. You’ll probably hear some rock music and maybe some Idol music later on in the evenings, some funk. Anything is possible, and that’s one of the reasons that it’s such a great day out. You never know what you’re going to hear next.
Special Guests
Most years, joining the Japanese musicians, there will be a number of special guests who have been invited from overseas. Their gigs tend to be very popular, and people will start queueing early to get a seat in the venues where they’re playing. This will be usually the larger halls, so if that’s your cup of tea, and you want to hear a particular session, do your homework before you go. In the weeks closer to the festival, a PDF will be downloadable from the website.
Other Activities
There are also plenty of other activities such as a flea market, art displays and you’ll also find entertainment such as jugglers and magicians, so it’s a great event for a family with little kids as well. Last year it was pretty hot, so please take precautions.
Did I mention the volunteers? Damn right, I did. A huge number of volunteers work at the event every year and generously give their time, looking after the huge influx of visitors from other parts of Japan and the many visitors from other countries. Collecting the mountains of trash, keeping people safe, making sure that everyone has a good time.
A Friendly Event
Everybody I know who goes to the festival enjoys it and remarks on how friendly it is, and with how much passion it is staged. It’s very unlikely that you’ll spend a day there, and not have very odd conversations in pigeon English with Japanese jazz fans in various stages of inebriation. I’ve never seen any trouble there, even later on in the evening when people have been drinking most of the day. It’s the most good natured festival I’ve ever been to.
When I started collecting records here in Japan, I soon came across records by the jazz trumpeter Terumasa Hino who was the first Japanese jazz musician to release an album on the world famous Blue Note label (“From the Heart” in 1991). The first album of his that I heard was his 1969 release “Hinology”. I never thought that I would be able to see him at this festival but in the past I’ve seen him about three or four times. Always an absolutely blistering excellent show bringing a team of super musicians of all ages. Sadly, it looks like he may not be playing this year.
A bit of history
Takatsuki Jazz Street was started in 1999 with the idea of making Takatsuki a fun town filled with music, a community-driven event initiated by local volunteers relying entirely on donations and support from businesses and attendees.
Hiroyuki Minowa (箕輪裕之) is a central figure in the Takatsuki Jazz Street Festival. He is the representative of the Takatsuki Jazz Street Executive Committee and a professional jazz bassist, performing the various musicians every year at the festival itself. Mr Minowa has been instrumental in establishing and growing the festival since its inception in 1999, driven by the vision of making Takatsuki a vibrant, music-filled city, also the founder of the Jupiter Academy of Music (ジュピター音楽院) in 1980.
On December 15th 2016, Takatsuki Jazz Street was certified as a “regional tourism resource” in Osaka Prefecture! About time too.
Sem Sinatra’s recommendations
My recommendations, some based on personal experience, some based on what I could find online, some just guessing:
1. Ayako Hiroe Trio May 3rd Saturday 13:00 at ピアマータ (Piamata)
2 Chome-13-5 Johokucho, Takatsuki, Osaka 569-0071
https://maps.app.goo.gl/wzYAS7PDESRKiBSs6
Ayako Hiroe is a fan of Bill Evans amongst others and you’ll hear it in her playing style.
2. Harry Allen Quartet May 4th 20:00 Torishima Hall
6-8 Nomicho, Takatsuki, Osaka 569-0077
https://maps.app.goo.gl/dUGBbhG2Rnde4nqM9
Harry Allen is an American jazz tenor saxophonist born in Washington, D.C. playing mainstream jazz and bossa nova.
3. Iwase Tatsuhi Quintet Nomi Shrine Noh Stage May 3rd 12pm
6-6 Nomicho, Takatsuki, Osaka 569-0077
https://maps.app.goo.gl/oW2pHxLCdBuLQ8dy7
The quintet on this occasion includes Minoru Satomura on tenor sax and Philip Strange on piano. A great chance to listen to jazz in the unique setting of a Japanese shrine.
4. Yutaka Shiina Inspired Swing Sextet featuring Pierrick Pédron playing on 3 occasions:
May 3rd 16:00
Takatsuki City First Junior High School Grounds
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vLNXSPDyfqmLDSi6A
May 3rd 19:00
Takatsuki City Momozono Elementary School Grounds
https://maps.app.goo.gl/E8etxjw414KGbo6D9
May 4th 16:00
Takatsuki Castle Park Arts and Culture Theater South Wing Torishima Hall
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MwVpSEfHPA6tDPVZ7
Finding information on particular musicians
If you’re the kind of person who likes to plan everything and know everything that’s happening at an event before you go, then you can view all the details of all the musicians on the official website (https://www.0726.info/artist/) you control freak. All the information is in Japanese only, but if you are a little bit tech savvy, you can get perfectly usable information by making your browser translate it for you.
I recommend using chrome and automatically translating pages into English. If you do that you’ll be able to see all the musicians, all the combinations of instruments, genre of music and so on. However, it’s not necessary, and most of the time this author can’t be bothered to do it, preferring to just turn up and go with the flow. On the day of the event, paper pamphlet programs are given out free, with all the venues marked on them and plenty of other information. Japanese only.
Details of the event
Date and time: 3rd & 4th May 2025 from 10am
How to get there:
● Hankyu Takatsukishi Station
Approx. 20 minutes from Umeda Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line/Approx. 20 minutes from Kawaramachi Station (express train)
● JR Takatsuki Station
Approx. 15 minutes from Osaka Station on the JR Kyoto Line/Approx. 15 minutes from Kyoto Station (Special Rapid Service)
Note: In previous years there was a bus ferrying attendees around the event, but the bus will apparently not be operating this year.
Official website:
https://www.0726.info/
YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@takatsukijazzstreetofficia6669
Don’t forget to buy a t-shirt!!!
