Let me introduce Mr. Kazuki Nagashima (commonly known as “Kazuo”), a baritone saxophonist, who was the first Japanese member of the One O’ Clock Lab Band.
“Ultimately, all jazz needs is to sound cool,” says Mr. Nagashima. However, it is a long and winding road to reach the heart of jazz music. As one who has devoted himself to playing “cool” jazz music, he looks like an ascetic.

“I want to live, looking for some excitement!” He gave up his position as a bank employee.

HIGH-SO*, to which he belonged while at Waseda University, was rigid in its hierarchical relationship, and first-year students were often made to run errands. Through the lead of upper-class students, the fundamentals of playing jazz music were thoroughly hammered in: beating a rhythm accurately, conforming to the score, giving a powerful performance. Lower-grade students felt intimidated by the commanding presence of 4th-year students, and could not talk to them at ease. Many dropped out. In the end, only two of the students in the same class as Mr. Nagashima remained. He actually felt that it was necessary for people who wish for a great success on the stage to spend time at the bottom of the ladder.

*HIGH-SO means High Society Orchestra, the most traditional big band in Waseda University, which has produced many talented professional jazz musicians.

After five years of college life, he graduated. In those days, it was extremely difficult for university students to find a job. He threw himself fiercely into job hunting. “I wanted a promise of employment from some of the leading companies, which I think is the same hope as the one held by most of today’s students.” Although joining the major city bank which first gave him a promise of employment, he had no special interest in financial business. “I knew almost all of the things that would happen to my life in the future. It would offer nothing new.” After a while, he started to grapple with life’s big questions. “I can live my life only once: it is unrepeatable. Even if I earn a pretty big salary, can I find satisfaction in my own life by just that?” Though continuing musical activities, he came to feel a need to be more flexible in performance rather than to conform to the score all the time. However, he could not spend enough time in practice because of working full-time, and found his technique not as good as it used to be. “Can I be confident of myself as a jazz saxophonist?” Mr. Nagashima asked himself. He did not find pleasure in everyday life. “I want to live, looking for something more exciting!” At last he decided to quit his job and to go and study at the University of North Texas (UNT), the home base of the One O’Clock Lab Band, to which he had been attracted. There was no longer any indecision in his mind.

A strategy for reaching his clear goal of becoming a member of the One O’ Clock Lab Band

In August 2002, he was admitted as a saxophone major student in Jazz Studies, at the College of Music of UNT. As a result of the first audition, he gained a seat as a member of the Eight O’Clock Lab Band. “In many cases, Japanese students do not fail in the first auditions because of their superior technique,” says Mr. Nagashima. That makes sense. Passing one audition after another, he was promoted to 3 O’Clock in August 2003. After that, however, he had the bitter experience of staying in the same rank for two and a half years. It was in January 2006 that he was eventually promoted to 2 O’Clock. He mapped out a concrete strategy and made every effort to achieve his goal of becoming a member of the One O’Clock Lab Band. First of all, he had to have a good grasp of the criteria of the judges for auditions. Then, taking the criteria into account, he strove to play in various styles. Another problem was how to save time. While local students could take credits quite flexibly and had an option to withdraw from school temporarily, international students including himself had to take at least 12 credits per semester. The situation surrounding him seemed so hard. But he carved out a future for himself. He carefully selected which course he would take, and was permitted to postpone his graduation for a year. Finally, in August 2006, he was at last admitted to the One O’Clock Lab band! As a member of “One O’Clock”, he performed at the Kennedy Center and made a live recording at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. Also, in May 2007, he participated in LAB 2007’s recording. He was the first person from Japan that ever participated in such a recording as a member of One O’Clock among those from many countries round the world. It was the moment his long-held dream finally came true.

The summit of jazz music, full of extremely talented “monsters.” The great joy of achievement followed by a bitter feeling of frustration

“Although I’d become a member of the top band, I felt disorientated. When I reached the summit, I was suddenly seized by a great anxiety, like a vast and deep ocean,” says Mr. Nagashima, thinking back to those days. What he found after realizing his long-held dream was that there were so many “monsters” much more talented than anyone he met before. The “monsters” played very easily the hardest pieces, some that he himself had great difficulty playing. At the summit of jazz music, he tasted both the bitterness of frustration as well as the joy of achieving his goal. Then, he started thinking about the sort of performance that no one other than himself could do. “Alto and tenor saxophones are likely to be preferred, but I wanted to move people by my baritone saxophone. I play using many vibratos. It was favorably accepted in the U.S. Some people even said, ‘Basically, I don’t like the sound of a baritone saxophone, but I do like yours.’ I was so glad to hear that.” And, he continued, “I want to let people know that there is a baritone saxophonist in Japan who can give a cool performance. I wanted to create a great sensation in Tokyo’s jazz music circles. I’m really happy to have such a clear goal and warm enthusiasm for music, even though I may not be fated to make much money.” He will follow the never-ending road to the soul of a baritone saxophone. The ascetic Kazuo will continue to play so powerfully, bathed in the limelight of the world of professional jazz.

◆The road to the One O’Clock Lab Band
UNT’s Jazz Studies program is top class both in quality and in quantity, having 9 lab bands, including the One O’Clock Lab Band, which is on the level of the Grammy Awards, and the 2 O’Clock Lab Band, rated as the best college band by the magazine "Down Beat." Even though there are a total of 9 bands, there are many students who have not yet been admitted to any band. Auditions for promotion to higher-level bands are held twice a year, in late August and early January, and participants compete vigorously for seats in them.