 The 847 open-reel tapes hold important information tracking the course of jazz in Japan from the 1950s through the latter half of the 1990s.
One of the tapes includes some experimental jazz played by the members of the "Shinseiki Ongaku Kenkyujo" (New Age Music Laboratory) at a coffee shop "GinParis" (Silver Paris) in the Ginza. Dr. Uchida, then in his mid-thirties, rode the night train from Okazaki all the way to Tokyo, carrying his Sony 777 tape recorder, in order to record this jazz session. Later this same group- Masayuki Takayanagi, Masaaki Kikuchi, Terumasa Hino, Yosuke Yamashita-would lead the jazz scene in Japan, making this tape a treasure for future generations.
Also in this collection are tapes of the 150 "Nagoya Yamaha Jazz Club" concerts over which Dr. Uchida presided between 1964 and 1997. Unaffected by commercialism and with a foundation built on Dr. Uchida's strong beliefs, these gatherings captured the spirit of jazz in Japan. We hope the tapes of these gatherings will be heard and passed on by many people, as they comprise a milestone in Japanese jazz and are a great cultural asset.
January 11, 1993, Dr. Osamu Uchida donated his jazz collection to the City of Okazaki. On that day, Dr. Uchida, accompanied by some close musician friends, presented an inventory of his collection to the mayor in his office. Afterwards, he returned home and held the last live ever in the DoctorŐs Studio. The players were Akira Miyazawa on the tenor sax, Mitsuhiko Sato on the piano, Nobuyoshi Ino on the base, and Motohiko Hino on the drums. This notable performance was captured on tape by a local television studio and some of it was aired. Someday, this performance may be incorporated into the Uchida collection and hopefully reach the ears of many more people.
@Unfortunately Akira Miyazawa and Motohiko Hino have already passed away. However, their studio live performances have been recorded and preserved. Through each of our 855 tapes, the values of which increase with the passage of time, many musicians pass on their messages, etching a priceless history of Japanese jazz on each tape.
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 ȘThe 777 Sony tape recorder
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