Remembering Elvin Jones on his birthday!!! This was the first time that I got to see Elvin and The Jazz Machine play live! This concert was at The Pit Inn in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan in January of 1999. We jetted there quickly on the train from work at Disney after blasting through a show to finish early, arrived and had our minds blown! Comprehension of what was going on at that time? Very little haha! I was just a green kid at 22 hahaha! There was something about the experience though that transcended any technique and even his incredible musicality. It was his energy, aura or spirit (?) not even sure how to describe it till this day but when he played there was just this force or energy that you felt, even with brushes on a ballad. Something you could get from one of his live vinyl albums played on a Hi-Fi system but only if you had seen him play in person before and sat close enough hear that grunt, to see the sweat dripping. He made you feel what he was playing man, wow... I got to see him later that week at a drum clinic at a music shop's theatre in Shinjuku and let me tell you, Keiko Jones always ran the show! She setup and tuned the drums, she organized everything from the focus of the clinic, translating questions to booking the whole tour! I also saw him in 2001 in Tampa at the theatre and got to talk with those two more. I so regret not going to the jam session after... I swear those two were never apart even when he was on stage, She was just off the side backstage grooving to the music. I wish I could go back in time to this concert at The Pit Inn in 1999 and experience it in my current age and musical maturity. . These were the days when somehow Hagi San from Yamaha (Mr Takashi Hagiwara) was at everything going on all over the world but especially in Japan and the US with Yamaha artists. Should have taken a photo with him as well. . . @mrokjazztokyo @wmnf_tampa @jazz_tokyo #elvinjones #elvin #elray #elvinrayjones #japan #sound #bitd #tokyo #jazz #jazzstories #pitinn #shinjukupitinn #drums #music #musicianlife #musiclife #drumlife #travel #tokyo #japan #shinjuku #livemusic #experience (at PIT INN) https://www.instagram.com/p/CE7baEYsefA/?igshid=68o16gfurgcw