May 1, 2017

Meet James Yoshizawa of Long Beach

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Yoshizawa.

James, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My father was a Japanese woodwind specialist who played on many movie soundtracks and my mother was a classic rock and 80’s pop fan, so I was around music my entire life. In elementary school, I enjoyed math and science classes and loved animals, so I was set on being a veterinarian. But as soon as I started playing music at age 10, it immediately felt like I found what I should have been doing all along. I played my first paying gig at age 12 with a Japanese folk music group called Matsutoyo Kai for the summer Obon festivals in Little Tokyo and continued playing with them throughout my teens. During high school, I was a member of the marching band, indoor drumline, jazz band, concert band, and orchestra. I continued my studies at California State University, Long Beach where I focused primarily on keyboard percussion, drum set and non-western hand percussion. During that time, I was exposed to music from all over the world and even got the opportunity to study for a few weeks in Brazil in 2006. Every moment that I wasn’t in class, I was in the practice rooms trying to master a wide variety of percussion instruments from many different genres (classical, jazz, Brazilian, West African, Caribbean, Cuban, etc.). I didn’t necessarily know how all of these musical influences would come together in my career, but I knew that I had a deep love for them and for the learning process in general, so I pursued them all whole-heartedly and relentlessly.

Everything that I worked on in those formative years has turned up in my career in some form. My marching band and drumline experience in high school led me to teaching in the marching percussion activity at several high schools around Southern California for the last 9 years (Nogales HS, Arcadia HS, and Woodbridge HS). My interest in various percussion instruments from other parts of the world has also shaped my career. I recently played Celtic percussion (bodhrán, bones) for the Broadway musical, “Come From Away” during its 2016 tour in Washington, DC and Gander, NL. My experience in Celtic, Brazilian, West-African, jazz and classical percussion lead to me being invited to the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in 2013, and I’ve been a guest artist there every year since then. I also maintain a very regular performance schedule in LA playing drum set in a variety of jazz ensembles. My overall interest in the learning process has kept me passionate about education, so I keep an active schedule teaching private lessons and giving clinics and masterclasses at local high schools and universities.

Has it been a smooth road?
Everyone in the performing arts encounters struggles. The constant pursuit of more meaningful artistic expression and mastery of the craft means that most spare hours are spent practicing. In college, I would average 6-10 hours of daily practice, usually staying on campus from 9am until 2am most days. This lifestyle can strain relationships, finances, and carries a lot of stress. There’s also the uncertainty that comes with being self-employed. Freelance musicians today have to be their own secretaries, accountants, booking agents, promoters, and tour managers — all while never being 100% sure about where the next paycheck is coming from. And while juggling all of this, we’re also constantly trying to balance work that pays the bills with work that is artistically fulfilling. In perfect circumstances, they coincide, but sometimes compromises have to be made. It’s important to regularly evaluate what you’re doing and why you’re doing it so that the Industry doesn’t kill the Art.

Ultimately, though, this is a labor of love with an outcome that can be deeply and overwhelmingly rewarding.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the James Yoshizawa story. Tell us more about the business.
I’m a freelance musician and educator who specializes in percussion, which means that I’m hired to play music for concerts, events and recording sessions and to teach others how to play music. As a performer, I’m most known for being able to play a wide variety of percussion instruments in a wide variety of settings. I’m interested in finding the common ground between musical cultures from around the world and seeing them all as vessels for a more universal form of expression.

What I’m most proud of is the care that I put into my work, whether teaching or performing. Everything that I do is a product of my best effort, and I will work tirelessly to make sure that it is. I only get one shot at life, so I’m never going to give a half-hearted effort.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
It’s an interesting time. With the downfall of the record industry and widely available online music streaming services, musicians have had to experiment with non-conventional ways of making a living off of their art. I don’t know if I can make any predictions other than to say that musicians are more hands-on in their careers than ever before. The days of getting a record deal and having agents and managers controlling your career are over for most. Musicians are forging new paths and finding new outlets for reaching audiences that can work synergistically with new tech trends.

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