Swords recognize their masters, and so do musical instruments.
The souls of people and instruments are mutually attracted. On the stage of Japanese saxophone player Tomoaki Baba, the saxophone is both a weapon and a dance partner. When playing to his heart's content, the sound turns into a human form and dances with him, with such tacit understanding that they are indistinguishable from each other and their eyes flickering.
Born in Sapporo, Japan in 1992, Tomoaki Baba began studying saxophone at the age of 7. From 2007 to 2009, he attended Berklee's five-week summer camp as a full scholarship student. In 2010, he was selected to attend the Berklee Jazz Workshop directed by Terri Lyne Carrington. In 2011, Tomoaki Baba received a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music.
December 2024 was his first time to visit mainland China, and the performances in Beijing and Shanghai filled Baba Tomoaki with curiosity. The high-rise buildings, streets, neon lights and crowds were both familiar and unfamiliar, and he enjoyed every moment very much.
Tomoaki Baba
When being interviewed by The Paper in the backstage lounge, this cute little boy with a shy face occasionally looked at his saxophone during the conversation, as if to say, "Look, that big, heavy guy. It's here on this adventure with me!"
Tomoaki Baba's other name is BaBa, which is the transliteration of the number 88. On the stage, he said to the audience with a smile on his face, "Chinese people also like this number. It has the taste of happiness." There is also a song "88" in his new album "ELECTRIC RIDER". The sound of the saxophone is flashing and moving, like a lonely soul shuttling through the crowded streets of Tokyo. The intervention of electronic synthesizers makes time and space continue to expand and contract. It is extremely spectacular and full of broken picture sense.
Hearty happiness
What you hear is what you see, and music creation brings Tomoaki Baba unbridled joy.
Talking about the special part prepared for the Chinese audience, he said, "We played a song from the animated film Blue Giant. This is actually the first time I've performed in front of people. It's different since the recording. I've never played this song in Japan. This is the first time to play it with the band."
Blue Superstar poster
In July 2023, the extremely popular manga series "Blue Superstar" which has been serialized since 2013 will be adapted into a movie. This is a work based on jazz culture and is also known as "a manga with audible sounds". This animated film, with music composed by Hiromi Uehara, has aroused enthusiastic response around the world, not only allowing jazz as an art form to transcend the boundaries of fans, but also inspiring the audience to explore and love jazz.
In the film, 18-year-old Miyamoto Dai has had a special liking for jazz since junior high school. With the grand dream of becoming the "world's number one jazz musician", he resolutely embarked on the journey of pursuing his musical dream with a saxophone in hand. After graduating from high school, he came to Tokyo and formed the "JASS" trio band with two other peers, officially starting their performing career and looking forward to one day performing on stage at So Blue, known as "Japan's number one jazz club."
Tomoaki Baba
Musicians who have influenced Tomoaki Baba
Like many musically gifted children, Tomoaki Baba fell in love with saxophone when he was in the first grade of elementary school.
"How long after you started playing the saxophone did you realize it was going to be your life partner?" the reporter asked.
He said seriously, "When I was a kid, learning saxophone was just an after-school activity or an ordinary hobby like other kids. It was fun. When I was 15, I went to Berklee College of Music to study. At that time, there was a professor from Berklee College of Music who gave me professional guidance. It was a magical experience, definitely one of the biggest experiences of my youth. Many people from Israel, Italy, Canada, China, and South Korea spent time practicing together and playing together for 5 weeks. That year, I don’t remember whether I was 13 or 15, I started to think about becoming a professional musician."
The initial stage of an artistic career begins with imitation. Tomoaki Baba began to learn the saxophone, learning from musicians such as Charlie Parker.
"Yeah, Charlie Parker is my favorite. I started playing alto saxophone first, which is my favorite. And Chris Botti was like a relaxed baker. He said to me, 'Come on, relax, this is a great choice.' Because I'm tall, I started playing tenor saxophone, but... God, I didn't want to play this big guy, I don't like too heavy instruments. But one day I heard Michiael Brecker, he is a great American composer and performer, and his tenor saxophone sounded great, so I figured out that the performer should integrate into the instrument itself, not separate from it."
In the 1980s and 1990s, Japan held many large jazz festivals, and great musicians from all over the world would come to Japan to perform. Baba Tomoaki felt very sorry that he did not catch up with that grand era, after all, he was not born at that time. But he said with certainty that it was because of this that many outstanding jazz musicians were born in Japan, and people were indeed influenced by jazz and they loved jazz.
“We have some legendary jazz musicians like Mizuhashi Takashi, who is now 82 years old, who plays with many great musicians and can recreate for us Japanese jazz from the 1980s or 1990s.”
Tomoaki Baba
Every musical journey will bring new colors to life.
Talking about the different feelings that Chinese jazz clubs bring to him, Tomoaki Baba said with a smile, "Chinese audiences will sit quietly or take out their phones to take pictures of you. Haha, this makes me feel a little strange. If it is a standing audience, I think they will be better immersed in the music, more relaxed and engaged."
"I often listen to the combination of Chinese opera and electronic music. It has a strong impact, which brings imagination to the hearing. When creating, what is the source of your imagination? For example, watching movies?" the reporter asked.
"I feel the same way. I lived in Japan until I graduated from high school. Japan is also a place where diverse cultures blend together. I would listen to some pop music and then incorporate it into it. In Boston, I like to play black music or hip-hop, reggae, etc. Just like all my records, there are actually many elements, just like many genres. We will also try new ways. Recently, one of my mother and my favorite musicians is like this, a pianist T from Armenia. Ground, a combination of Armenian music and jazz, and maybe rock music. "As for my source of inspiration, I think it has nothing to do with movies, haha, because I don't like to watch particularly literary art movies, which are not conducive to my relaxation. I prefer comedy movies that don't require thinking, which is no different from everyone else. Maybe fashion shows will bring me a lot of musical inspiration. Fashion is often always connected to culture. Art activities with visual effects can bring me musical imagination. For example, when I see a painting at an exhibition or a museum, I always wonder what kind of music I should match it with. Like the scene of my latest album, it is a crazy color. So jazz is not blue, but colorful. My teacher often said that music is always like a painting, and each color represents a dramatic symbol. Red represents our reaction, and different reds also reveal different reactions. "
ELECTRIC RIDER cover
When talking about how to keep yourself focused and efficient when creating, Tomoaki Baba believes that jazz is unique and performers always like to play with different people. "Just like this time I brought completely different people, as you just said, the intersection of traditional sounds and new sounds is very inspiring to everyone, which is also the reason why I can continue to move forward," he said.
"Do you think you are closely related to the protagonist of the movie 'Blue Superstar', Miyamoto Dai?" the reporter asked.
Tomoaki Baba lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his face with an incredible look as if he had been suddenly struck by fate.
"Really, it happened to me when I was a teenager. An old guy, who came to watch the show. He said, 'Your performance tonight was much better than last time,' and it was like what happened to me when I was a teenager. The character of Miyamoto Dai often practiced under the bridge, and I could understand what he was doing. This work is written very realistically, and I, like him, have the same firm goal ahead."
Baba Tomoaki not only vividly presents Miyamoto Dai's musical dream on the screen, but also shows a similar inspirational spirit as the protagonist in real life. He once said: "No matter what the situation, I always want to be a 'music performer'."
Speaking of Blue Superstar, Tomoaki Baba recalled: "Blue Superstar caused a huge response around the world. I strongly felt that people, whether they were jazz fans or not, started listening to jazz after the movie was released. The biggest difference was that the younger generation took the initiative to come to see jazz live performances and became jazz fans."
Stills from Blue Superstar
When recalling the behind-the-scenes creation stories, what impressed him most was his constant "headaches".
"For this film, we recorded the music first, and then matched the pictures. In the text description, there is a huge sound, just like what is shown in the comics. Yes, we rehearsed and designed it many times. It was not a simple, long note fingering problem. Gradually, the sound came out, like the sound of a mammal roaring, which was the most perfect, but it was too difficult. It was a super strong sound. I always like to play that kind of super strong sound. I need to play very hard. If I can't play 70%, it's meaningless, so I have to play to 150%. I played with all my strength, and then I started to have a headache every day. In those days, all I had to do was get used to the headache. The process was difficult, but it was all worth it."
"Last question, are you an idealist in music?" the reporter asked.
Baba Tomoaki thought about it carefully and replied, "I don't think so. Especially with jazz, I can't make my music perfect because it is a team work."
He feels that when all the musicians play together, they cannot control the outcome. If they want idealistic perfection, they will lose the opportunity to explore more possibilities. He would rather complete the music to 70% or 80% and then give others more open minds.
"When I create music, I will play it to Yuki or Kim and ask them what they think. Then we will make it perfect music together. I try to be the perfect saxophone player, just like a band conductor or band leader, and together we imagine that miracles may happen."
Jazz fans love jazz because the same piece of music is a different instant creation every time it is played, bringing people different enjoyment. Similarly, for Tomoaki Baba, playing is not about doing the same thing over and over again. He enjoys new musicians, new audiences, new stages, and every amazing new perspective.
As he said, every musical journey will bring out new colors in life.