Listening to Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers, First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings.
Excellent!
Excellent may be an understatement. Blakey and his band hit Japan like one of the countries yearly typhoons and started a long tradition of returning there to play as well as opening the floodgates to Japan.
One must remember that 1961 was a mere 16 years after we ended a horrific war with Japan by using nuclear weapons. Nobody knew what kind of reception they would give American musicians on their home islands but the fanatical outpour of support, including the "airport greeting celebrations" was a revelation.
All was forgiven (never forgotten) proving that music could heal millions of listeners half way around the globe with a totally different culture then ours. After Blakey, hundreds more jazz greats followed in his footsteps to the outstretched arms of Japan....