Yong Yandsen with Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Daysuke Takaoka and Darren Moore

Yong Yandsen 2016 Japan Tour

Malaysian free improvising tenor saxophonist Yong Yandsen will be touring Japan from April 20-28, 2016. Yong Yandsen is one the leading experimental musicians in South-East Asia with a distinctive and highly-expressive voice on the tenor that is draws elements from Kaoru Abe, Albert Alyer and John Butcher. He will be joined on the tour by Tokyo-based musicians Daysuke Takaoka on tuba and Darren Moore on drums as well as other guests including Tetuzi Akiyama, Hirose Junji, Reona Otsuka, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Yuji Ishihara, Tim Olive and Takuji Naka. 

April 20 - Candy, Chiba
Yong Yandsen (sax), Daysuke Takaoka (tuba), Darren Moore (drums)
Doors open: 19.30 / Start: 20.00
Adv: ¥3500 / Door: ¥4000
http://blog.livedoor.jp/jazzspotcandy/

April 21 - Nanya, Nagoya
Yong Yandsen (sax), Daysuke Takaoka (tuba), Darren Moore (drums, Special guest: Juzo (drums)
Doors open: 19.30 / Start: 20.00
Door: Open charge + drink order
http://www.nanyagokiso.com/

April 22 - Space Eauuu, Kobe
Yong Yandsen (sax), Daysuke Takaoka (tuba), Darren Moore (drums, Special Guests: Tim Olive (prepared guitar) and Takuji Naka (cassette decks)
Doors open: TBA / Start: TBA
Adv: TBA / Door: TBA
http://www.musika-nt.com/spaceeauuu/

April 23 - Chove Chuva, Osaka
Yong Yandsen (sax), Daysuke Takaoka (tuba), Darren Moore (drums, Special guest: Yuji Ishihara (drums)
Doors open: 19.30 / Start: 20.00
Door: Open charge + drink order
http://chovechuva.com/

April 25 - Sabaco, Tokyo
Yong Yandsen (sax), Daysuke Takaoka (tuba), Darren Moore (drums, Special Guest: Reona Otsuka (tap dance)
Doors open: 19.30 / Start: 20.00
Door: ¥2000
http://sabaco.jp/

April 26 - Shinjuku Pit Inn, Tokyo
Yong Yandsen (sax), Daysuke Takaoka (tuba), Darren Moore (drums), Special guest: Tatsuhisa Yamamoto (drums)
Doors open: 19.30 / Start: 20.00
Door: ¥3000
http://www.pit-inn.com/index_e.html

April 27 - Ftarri, Tokyo
Yong Yandsen (sax), Daysuke Takaoka (tuba), Darren Moore (drums, Special guest: Hirose Junji (sax)
Doors open: 19.30 / Start: 20.00
Door: ¥2000
http://www.ftarri.com/suidobashi/index-e.html

April 28 - Muriwui, Tokyo
Yong Yandsen (sax), Daysuke Takaoka (tuba), Darren Moore (drums, Special guest: Tetuzi Akiyama (guitar)
Doors open: 18.30 / Start: 19.00
Door: ¥500 bar charge + open charge for musicians
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/cafe/muriwui/index.html

Musician Profiles

Yong Yandsen is a experimental and free jazz musician from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He’s one of the co-founders of the EMACM (Experimental Musicians & Artists Co-operative) collective, promoting avant-garde and experimental music and expressions in Malaysia. Guitar was his first intrument that he drop for tenor saxophone some years ago. Free tenor sax with strong breath and playing with pitch in a lyrical style that make Yandsen related to Albert Ayler, Kaoru Abe or Masayoshi Urabe.

Born in Osaka, Tuba player Daysuke Takaoka is a Tokyo based improviser. His tuba playing incorporates a wide range of playing methods and unusual extended technique. Takaoka to attempts to create the complexity of electronic music on the tuba within an predominantly acoustic environment, which he refers to an 'acoustic synthesizer'. 

Born in Scotland, raised in Australia and based in Tokyo, Darren Moore is a drummer and electronic musician who has extensive experience playing jazz and commercial music styles as well as electronic, experimental and improvised music styles. Darren has performed extensively in Australia, South-East Asia, Japan and Europe. Since arriving in Tokyo in mid-2015, he has been active playing with many of the Tokyo scene's more adventurous musicians, quickly established himself as an exciting new voice on the Tokyo music scene.

Photo credit: Wong Yok Teng