Land of Mystery
“When I went for the first time, the food was so exotic to me, I ate nothing but white rice.” Benjamin Herman (b. 1968) was around twenty years old in 1989, and had just embarked on his professional career, playing in the saxophone section of The Glenn Miller revival orchestra. “I remember emperor Hirohito had just passed away, so some of our performances got canceled. I enjoyed it, of course it was amazing to be so far away from home. But Japan was still a mystery to me. It didn’t click.” Several years later, Benjamin had the opportunity to visit Japan for a second time, now for a collaboration with NHK, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation. “That’s when it hit me. I was introduced to all of this great Japanese music and the musicians I met were just so incredibly good!”
Benjamin has been in love with Japan ever since. He has been back countless times, performing at the Blue Note Tokyo, Tokyo Jazz, Fuji Rock and at other major venues often participating with Japanese musicians. Even when he got married, the newlywed travelled to Japan for their honeymoon. Benjamin also has an interest in the language: “I enjoy studying it, but whereas through music I can communicate with others effortlessly, Japanese is not easy, especially the kanji!” It doesn’t matter: the love for Japan is real. So when Benjamin heard of the Netherlands’ participation in Expo 2025 Osaka, he felt like he had to go. “I’m really happy with this opportunity, and we are so excited about coming over for the Expo.”
And the Netherlands participation in Expo is happy to have Benjamin Herman. Born in London from a Dutch mother and an English father, he moved to the Netherlands with his parents as a child. Benjamin began to learn the saxophone at the age of twelve, and was as already a performing artist in his teenage years. Since taking part in the 1991 Thelonious Monk Competition and studying with saxophonist Dick Oatts in New York, Benjamin has released over 50 albums as a solo artist and as the front man of his New Cool Collective. “Jazz is everywhere in Japan. Even in a noodle shop or at the mall you hear jazz played in the background,” says Benjamin. “They seem to love the music.”
Jazz in Japan
It was through 78 rpm shellac records that adventurous Japanese music fans first heard jazz in the 1920s and 30s. After World War II, when thousands of American troops were stationed in Japan, and American dance halls were always short on players for their orchestras, they began hiring local Japanese musicians. This really opened the flood gates for the quintessential African-American music form in Japan where, less constrained by racism, it would be embraced for what is was: new, exciting, and “cool.” Japanese artists started out emulating their American idols, but from the 1960s onwards developed their own distinct style.
The first internationally recognized Japanese jazz artist was Toshiko Akiyoshi, pianist and one of the few women in jazz in the 1950s. She had grown up listening to Teddy Wilson’s piano playing on records, and was discovered in a Tokyo nightclub by Canadian pianist Oscar Peterson, who persuaded the owner of Verve Records in the US to record her. Akiyoshi became the first Japanese student at Berklee School of Music in Boston. Her success gave way to Sadao Watanabe, Japan’s best known alto saxophonist, who joined Akiyoshi’s Cozy Quartet, and later moved to the US to study at Berklee as well. Both Akiyoshi and Watanabe are still performing well into their nineties.
But these stars are just the tip of the iceberg. “Japanese jazz is vast. There are so many amazing musicians who are virtually unknown outside of Japan,” says Benjamin Herman. “Koichi Sugii for example. His arrangements [from the 1930s and 40s] combine jazz with traditional Japanese and Chinese instruments.” This tradition continues until the present day. “I love how the Japanese take music and practice very seriously. Almost everyone learns to play an instrument in middle and high school and that exposure has led to more female musicians being active in Japan than in many other countries. Take Erena Terakubo for example, this saxophone player [in her early thirties] has a successful career in the US.”
Projects in Japan
Benjamin’s love for Japan has spawned many visits and a number of collaborations. “Back in 2013 [drummer] Sebastiaan Kaptein and I met pianist Mayuko Katakura at the Tokyo Jazz Festival. Ten years later, in 2023, I finally managed to bring her to the Netherlands to go on tour with us. It turned out to be a great success with seven sold out concerts!” With his visit to Expo in mind, Benjamin decided to embark on some new Japanese projects. In April 2025 he went to Tokyo to record a new album with jazz musicians Otomo Yoshihide, Tomoaki Baba and Shinpei Ruike with special guests Akihito Obama and Ko Ishiwaka on Japanese traditional instruments. The Tokyo Sessions is scheduled for release in March 2026, and will be followed by an EU tour in April and November of that year.
Benjamin’s regular trio members Thomas Pol (bass) and Jimmi Hueting (drums) will join him on his tour of Japan this September. For the show at Expo, they have arranged a very special guest. Benjamin: “We’re happy to announce that Tomoaki Baba will come with us to Expo. He is an amazing young tenor saxophonist who was featured in the 2023 anime film Blue Giant, a jazz story that made it to cinemas around the world.” The Benjamin Herman Trio will appear at Expo as a double bill show with Bnnyhunna (Benjamin Ankomah), a Dutch-Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist from Amsterdam.
Want to catch all these wonderful artists in Japan? Have a look at Benjamin's official website for all the details. The show at Pop Up Stage West on September 18th is open to anyone with a ticket to Expo 2025 Osaka.
Photo: Jonathan Herman