ドミニク東京公演決定！(Dominic will be visiting Japan!）

4.19 (金)、4.20(土）、4.21(日）COTTON CLUB TOKYO

ドミニクの5年ぶりの来日が発表になりました。嬉しいですね！やっと来てくれる！という感じです。まあ、去年3月、スティングの来日の時に「できたら年末に行きたいと思っている」と話していたので、その後5月にドイツで会った時に「年末、来れるのでしょうか？」聞いたら「行きたいとは思ってるんだけどまだわからないんだ。ごめんね、待っててね。」と言っていました。しかし、途中でそれは難しいと言う事で、結局2023年は来る事が出来ませんでした。

だから本当に本当に「待ってました！」という感じです。このアルバム『Vagabond』は2023年の4月21日にリリースされ、私はその後、2023年の5月、ハンブルグでドミニクのライブを見ていますが、その時はこの『Vagabond』の中からは「Cruel But Fair」の1曲しかやらなかった記憶があります。
下の写真はその直前にあった、ドミニクのポーランド・ワルシャワの名門JAZZクラブ「Club Jassmine」でのライブのセットリストです。

ピアニスト：Jason Rebello

そして、ジェイソンと言えばなんと言ってもジェフ・ベックとの活動を思い浮かべる方も多いのではないでしょうか？ジェフの素晴らしいライブとして記憶に残る、「Live at Ronnie Scott’s 」ではジェイソンがキーボードを弾いています。もしジェイソンを知らない方がいたら、是非この時の動画を見て下さい。今回彼がいるのでひょっとしたらまたジェフの曲もやる可能性もあるかもしれないですね！

一方でヤコブ・カールソンが日本に来れないのは個人的に少し残念ではあります。彼の素晴らしいピアノを日本でも聞いてほしかったのですが。ただ、ヤコブ自身は自分のバンドで日本にはなるべく早く行きたいと考えてくれているようなので、それを楽しみに待ちましょう。

とにかく、4月が待ち遠しいですね。皆さんこのドミニクのライブ会場という「Meeting Point」で是非お会いしましょう。

■ Dominic Miller Live at COTTON CLUB

4.19 (Fri), 4.20 (Sat), 4.21 (Sun) COTTON CLUB Tokyo

Dominic’s first visit to Japan in five years was announced. I’m very happy! He’s finally coming! When Sting came to Japan in March 2023, he said he wanted to come to Japan with his band at the end of the year if possible, so when I met him later in May in Germany, I asked him, “Can you come at the end of the year?” He said, “I would like to go, but I don’t know yet. Sorry, I hope you’ll waiting.” He said. But it turned out to be difficult on the way and I couldn’t come in 2023 after all.

So it’s really, really, I feel like “I’ve been waiting for this!
The album ”Vagabond” was released on 21 April 2023 and then I saw Dominic live in Hamburg in May 2023 and I’m sure he only played one song from this Vagabond, ‘Cruel But Fair’.

Below is the setlist from Dominic’s live performance at Club Jassmine, a prestigious Jazz club in Warsaw, Poland, which took place just prior to the event.

Only two songs from “Vagabond” there – ‘All Chage’ and ‘Cruel But Fair’. And in Leverkusen, Germany at the beginning of November, they did not play any songs from “Vagabond”. So I think the tour that starts at the end of March will be the first time that a lot of the songs from the “Vagabond” album will be played.

Dominic’s three albums for ECM, especially “Absinthe” and “Vagabond” are not only beautiful but also contain very deep philosophical themes.
The overall impression of “Vagabond” is one of contrast between ‘movement’ and ‘stillness’, while ‘Cruel But Fair’ and ‘Mi Viejo’ express Dominic’s grief at the loss of someone close to him, so I personally feel strongly Dominic’s deep love for ‘things that are not eternal’ and ‘things that are ephemeral’ and the ‘passage of time’.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how these relatively quiet songs, which are all about simplicity, will actually perform at live.

Pianist Jason Rebello

Maybe you saw this setlist at Club Jassmine and thought: “What’s that song?” Yes, Dominic played Jeff Beck‘s ‘Diamond Dust’ in memory of his beloved Jeff Beck, who died in January 2023. I was really happy to hear this, as I had wanted to hear Dominic play a Jeff Beck song for many years. However, he has not played this song since.

Unfortunately, Sweden’s Jacob Karlzon, who played piano on the recording of “Vagabond”, will not be coming to Japan this time. In Japan, the piano will not be played by Jacob, but by the famous British keyboardist Jason Rebello.

Jason Rebello studied classical music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where Dominic also studied.
He played keyboards for Sting after the death of Kenny Kirkland on “Brand New Day” (1999), “…All This Time” (2001) and “Sacred Love” (2003) and has toured with Dominic for a long time. So I’m sure you’ll hear us playing in perfect harmony. He is also one of Dominic’s long-time colleagues, having worked with Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel and Manu Kache.

And when it comes to Jason, many people probably think of his work with Jeff Beck. Jason plays keyboards on ‘Live at Ronnie Scott’s‘, which is remembered as one of Jeff’s great gigs. If you don’t know him, I would encourage you to watch this video. This tour is with Jason, so maybe there is a chance that we will do some of Jeff’s songs again!

On the other hand, I am personally a little disappointed that Jacob Karlzon cannot come to Japan. I wanted people in Japan to hear his wonderful piano playing. However, Jacob himself seems to want to go to Japan with his own band as soon as possible, so let’s hope for the best.

Anyway, I can’t wait for April. I look forward to seeing you all at the ‘Meeting Point‘ – Dominic’s live venue.

■ Dominic Miller Live at COTTON CLUB