In my quest for an Asian American perspective of jazz music, I happened upon an NPR interview that was conducted by Thai-American Patrick Jarrenwattananon, as he interview Japanese American bassist Tatsu Aoki. Throughout the interview Aoki is asked about his experience with jazz as an Asian American. There are certain parts of the interview that I found addressed my topic.

Within the duration of the interview Aoki is able to touch upon the fact that Asian Americans are underrepresented in society as a whole, not just within the arts. The reason that Asian Americans deserve their own label within the music community is to showcase the fact that there are Asian Americans who have found success within their practice. He is also asked about colorblindness within the artistic community. His response is that while it’s true that anyone can make music, not everyone is properly represented in certain communities. Asian American jazz is labeled as such because it highlights the Asian American experience.

Aoki also believes in differentiating between Asian American jazz, and Asian Americans playing jazz. The former has more to do with incorporating Asian American culture within their art, as opposed to simply being an artist who happens to be Asian American.

I feel that this interview gave me a more clear idea of what I need to look for in terms of a clear definition of Asian American jazz. Before I had a more broad range of what I was looking for in terms of listening, but after reading this interview I feel as though I can narrow down my search into a more manageable genre.