Among the Buskers of New York: Yaz Band

Among the “Buskers” of New York: Yaz Band

You get on an isolated 4 from Woodlawn and by the time you have reached 161-Yankee Stadium, boy are you glad you got on early and got a seat for yourself. More and more people pile on, converting the isolated cart into a hectic space of people from all different backgrounds, economic groups, social groups, of all shapes and sizes. This cart in its essence is such an equalizing factor; whether you are a banker on Wall Street or a janitor at the nearby public school (not to demean a janitor in any way), whether you are a sales associate at Zarra or the CO himself, whether you are from the depths of disarray or the laps of luxury, a seat is a seat and space is space: you don’t think about who is sitting next to you or standing over you, you sit where there is a seat and stand where there is space.           

This is the beginning of the subway culture here in New York City; like a train ride, the ultimate experience of this aspect of Empire State’s culture has to start somewhere and the subway cart itself is that stop. However, the essence of New York’s culture is not limited to up on the streets and avenues of the city. Underneath these same streets and avenues, men and women alike play music, make art on the walls of the subway stations and perform dances that speak to their backgrounds and cultures and elevate the culture of New York to unparalleled levels. There are acapella groups, jazz ensembles, rock n’ roll groups, violinists, cellists, drummers, singers, hip-hop dancers, and the list can keep going on and on. Till this day, these musicians and artists are called “Buskers”, derived from the Spanish work buscar meaning “ to seek.” In 1985, the MTA, in an effort to officially authorized and regulate the performers, started the program “Music Under New York”, which gave the performers equal chances at the busiest parts of the transit stations. The tradition of performing at various subway stations started over 100 years ago and has prevailed through difficult economic times and is still able to capture what New York is all about: diversity and perseverance.

It was a Friday morning and I had decided to make a trip down to the city. I took the 4 downtown to Grand Central Station and was enroute to transferring to the shuttle to Times Square when I happened upon jazz musicians performing for a rather large crowd. I made my way through the crowd to the front to see what all the hype was about. I got to the front and realized that the crowd was almost in an entranced state with the jazz band that called themselves “Yaz Band”, with its leader, Yasuyuki “Yaz” Takagi, playing the saxophone like none other.

Mr. Yasuyuki Takagi

I resorted to speaking with Mr. Takagi whilst he was on his break and was able to hear his personal story that encompasses the struggles of a non-native musician trying to establish himself in the Big Apple City.  A native of Osaka, Japan, Yasuyuki “Yaz” Takagi was influenced by the sounds of jazz at a very early age. As a child, Mr. Takagi listened to both the music of his native homeland as well as his father’s jazz collection. His interest in jazz music grew and he often listened to artists such as Bob James, Dave Grusin, The Crusaders, Earth, Wind and Fire, Grover Washington, Jr. and other American jazz artists. However, it was David Sanborn’s music that led him to pursue the saxophone as his instrument of choice. After getting minimal training and exposure back in Japan, Mr. Takagi finally took up his friend’s (who lived in New York at that time) offer, decided that he wanted to continue his jazz studies abroad and moved to New York in April, 1992.

When I asked whether Mr. Takagi experienced much culture shock in moving all the way from Japan to New York, he immediately said “Yes, Ofcourse!” Not only was the culture and lifestyle of New York much different from the Japanese lifestyle he was used to leading, the music scene here was also much more intimidating, impressive and vast than Mr. Takagi had expected.

Feeling that his own ability was inadequate to pursue a career as a professional musician in New York, he decided to return back to Japan. However, with only a month left in N.Y. before his scheduled return home, he met a fellow saxophonist during one of his trips to Central Park, who encouraged him to stay and pursue his dreams. Hence, he decided to stay in New York and began studying with Rob Scheps while working as a dishwasher in a Japanese restaurant. As time passed, his abilities (and confidence) improved as his continued to work at night and practice during the day until soon he was able to switch to a day job, thus leaving his evenings open for music. As Yaz began to play with more and more groups and jam sessions, his abilities came to the attention of some N.Y. area local bands, such as Joy Ryder and the New York Rhythm All Stars, the smooth jazz group Since When?,  The Sly Geralds’ Band,
 and many others.

However, the attention and success was short-lived as the tragedy of the September 11^th attacks caused Mr. Takagi’s to take some hard decisions: he lost his day job as a result of which he became a full time musician, formed his own group (the Yaz Takagi Group).  He auditioned for the MTA’s MUNY program circa the same time and became a regular feature with the series. Currently, Yaz is still working with his own and other groups throughout the New York metropolitan area.

Mr. Takagi’s story is essentially what the music scene in New York is about: overcoming struggles and hurdles in order to make art that both encompasses the heart of the artist and  of the city. As New Yorkers, we pass by people like Mr. Takagi on a regular basis and take them for granted but we forget to think that their stories are a valuable asset and key to understanding the culture of New York. I would like to genuinely thank Mr. Takagi for sharing his story with me and wish him all the success he is worthy of.

Below are the links to some of his performances at the various subway stations around New York. Please also make sure to check out his Facebook fan page for timings and schedules of where he and his group will be performing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlf2J0YYMAk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ExRPqHvpMo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9SmubG7Mbc