On September 29, 2018, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Tokyo Band held its 58th regular concert at Showa Women's University's Hitomi Memorial Hall in Tokyo, billed as "Jazz & Japan," and opened it the way that band opens things, with the "Gunkan" (Warship) March. The guest was Eiji Kitamura, then 89, a Benny Goodman devotee who had turned professional at 22. With the band behind him he played "Moonlight Serenade," his own "Satsuki ni Yosete" and "Sing Sing Sing," telling the stories behind them between numbers and sharing a solo turn with one of the band's clarinetists. The second half went Japanese: a band-commissioned rhapsody, then the folk song "Soran Bushi" reworked as "Soran Funk" with a school band and chorus. The encore was T-Square's "Omens of Love," by Hirotaka Izumi. The navy's photographers released their pictures under an open license, which is why every free photo of Kitamura on Wikimedia Commons comes from this one evening.
Eiji Kitamura with the JMSDF Tokyo Band at its 58th regular concert, September 29, 2018. (Photo: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Tokyo Band, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Sources: 第５８回定例演奏会を開催 — JMSDF Tokyo Band official concert report (Japanese; archived; September 29, 2018, Showa Women's University Hitomi Memorial Hall, "Jazz & Japan," guest Eiji Kitamura at 89, full program including 軍艦, ムーンライト・セレナーデ, さつきに寄せて, シング・シング・シング, ソーラン・ファンク and encore オーメンズ・オブ・ラブ) , 海上自衛隊東京音楽隊の第58回定例演奏会（2018年） — あれこれdiary (Japanese; audience account of the concert, Kitamura's three numbers and the clarinet duet) , File:Eiji Kitamura 20180929 1.jpg — Wikimedia Commons (JMSDF Tokyo Band, 58th regular concert, 2018-09-29, CC BY 4.0) , 北村英治 — Wikipedia (Japanese; born April 8, 1929, Tokyo; professional debut at 22; Benny Goodman influence; composer of 「五月によせて」) , Eiji Kitamura — jazzprofiles.com
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