2023-07-23 12:50:38
Sunday, July 23, 2023, 11:17 | Updated 12:50 p.m.
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The Japanese pianist Yosuke Yamashita, one of the most important figures in the history of Japanese jazz, received his Donostiako Jazzaldia Award this Sunday from the mayor of San Sebastián Eneko Goia.
The award, which will also receive Abdullah Ibrahim and Enrico Rava, highlights their career. It is due to him, among others, that Japan is one of the most jazzy countries in the world. Born in Tokyo in 1942, Yamashita is a celebrity in his country and is recognized around the world, with his explosive style, as “one of the greatest Jazz pianists of all time”.
From one of the seats on the first floor of the Victoria Eugenia theater, Yosuke Yamashita (Tokyo, 1942) observes the award in detail. “What does the image represent? Is it some iconic place in the city? A silver engraving of the Plaza de la Trinidad, where Abdullah Ibrahim will also collect his Donostiako Jazzaldia award. “I still have today free before traveling back to Japan, I would love to see this place,” he said excitedly.
A simple act in the China Hall of the San Sebastián theater served to commemorate the 81-year-old pianist with what is already the 37th prize of the festival. He received it from the mayor of the city, Eneko Goia, after having concluded the two programs that he offered solo on Friday and Saturday at the San Telmo Museum. «I would like to thank everyone who has come to listen to me at these concerts. You have been a great audience and I am very flattered », he acknowledged.
Taking advantage of the moment, his memory wanted to go back to more than 25 years ago, when he visited Spain for the first time. «I remember that, then, a Basque boy interviewed me. It was an interview that gave me very good feelings and that I keep as a very special memory, which is why I think it was a beautiful coincidence that I was now able to return to the Basque Country». Regarding his stay these days in the city and his experience at Jazzaldia, Yamashita has not hesitated to indulge in praise, because “I already knew that it was one of the biggest festivals that exists. Although until now I have not been able to enjoy many more concerts, I hope to be able to do so.
Throughout his career, Yamashita has made his mark alongside the likes of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, has made film scores, and is credited with founding a jazz college at a Japanese university, “where until now only classical music was studied.” After the delivery of the first two prizes of this 58th edition to Yosuke Yamashita and Abdullah Ibrahim, today it will be the turn of the Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava to receive it.
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