On October 9th, CG Sunaga hosted a “Jazz & Sake” concert reception at the official residence. The concert featured Ms. Takana Miyamoto, multi-award winning international jazz pianist, and Ms. Satsuki Iida, jazz vocalist and winner of the 2010 Jazz World Magazine “Shinjin (New Face) Award.” The event was a way to showcase the surprisingly harmonious combination of exceptional Japanese sake with jazz, which originated in the South.

    About 30 guests, including local artisans, were invited to experience and appreciate the depth and high standard of Japanese culture in music through a remarkable jazz performance by Ms. Miyamoto and Ms. Iida. Japanese sake culture was introduced through the award winning sake, Ichiro, which received the top sake prize, “Champion Sake,” in the 2008 International Wine Challenge(IWC).

    One guest commented, “The combination of sake and the Japanese jazz vocal and pianist was a unique way to experience Japanese culture that I enjoyed!” The Jazz & Sake concert reception was a successful fusion of jazz and sake in an event showcasing a different aspect of Japanese culture.