I heard that the pianist Matsunaga-san was directing True Colors JAZZ and thought how exciting! I hadn’t performed with him in 18 years when he was in junior high school and I was around 20 years old. At the time, we hadn’t yet established our styles and tones, so it was really fun to play together and find ourselves completely different from the past. And by playing with pianist Kihira-san, singer Ozawa-san and other players, I found how we all grasped the music so differently, which showed in our interpretations of the piece, the viewpoint, the temperature, and in the way we created pauses. But even if we’re different, if you want to communicate, you continue the conversation (performance). That passion and joy don’t change, even if something, whether it’s physical or mental, is different. That realization was one of the things that made me happy during this session.

I heard that the concept of True Colors Festival is “the world is interesting because it’s filled with differences,” and this is exactly what I’ve been reminded of every day since I’ve lived in New York. I’ve been based in New York for 17 years now, where cultures from all over the world collide, spark and fuse together, and I wouldn’t be able to live my life without those words. Of course, I’m aware of the importance of social responsibility and duty. But in a simple sense, when you realize that you’re different from other people and that there’s something that only you can do, it makes your heart beat faster – that’s the feeling of being alive. Now that I look back, I think I’ve had that feeling ever since I came to New York. There is great value in having differences in the world.