Teruo Nakamura and friends play 2nd Red Shoes Foundation HIV/AIDS Awareness concert at PIC Tokyo
Hiroyuki Ishii, former ambassador to Zambia
April 17, 2008, Tokyo: The Red Shoes Foundation and World Bank PIC Tokyo held a special videoconference session Arts & Music for HIV/AIDS Awareness, with the Teruo Nakamura Trio today, followed by a live jazz performance at PIC Tokyo. The performance took place against the background of a photographic exhibition of historic shots from Nakamura’s HIV/AIDS awareness tours over the past 12 years. Photographer Akiyoshi Miyashita’s photos are on display in the World Bank PIC space for two weeks starting April 14.
Students from Waseda University’s Hirayama Ikuo Volunteer Center kicked off the videoconference with a short video presentation about understanding and tolerance for those who suffer from HIV/AIDS. This was followed by speeches from Shigemasa Sawada, Professor at the School of Medicine at Nihon University and also Hiroyuki Ishii, former professor at Hokkaido University and previously the Japanese ambassador to Zambia. Both spoke on some of the latest HIV/AIDS research, perspectives on the HIV virus and whether a vaccine is feasible, including a broad discussion about infectious diseases both in the developed and developing world, and what individuals can do in the struggle against these diseases.
Teruo Nakamura on bass, Hiromu Aoki on piano, and Hiroshi Murakami played drums * PHOTO BY SHIRO KIMURA
Bassist and jazz producer Teruo Nakamura, a Japanese advocate for HIV/AIDS education and awareness, also spoke at the seminar relating how his experience after moving to America 45 years ago influenced him to speak out, spread the word, and become socially active through his music to educate people about the scourge of this disease.
A video recording of his 2006 AIDS Awareness concert at Nihon University was played for the audience, and several academic and fellow World Bank offices around the world connected by video link to the public seminar. Students and professionals at Osaka University (Suita Campus and Nakanoshima Center), Kobe University, Okayama University, Yamaguchi University, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, the International Finance Corporation Hong Kong office, World Bank’s office in Niger, JICA’s Burkina Faso office, and the Dili Distance Learning Center in Timor Leste, all joined, and offered stimulating questions and viewpoints related to HIV/AIDS and other infectious disease research. Koichi Omori, Communications Officer in the World Bank’s Tokyo office, moderated the discussion and Q&A session.
Hiroyuki Ishii, former ambassador to Zambia
After the video conference wrapped up, participants headed downstairs to the World Bank Public Information Center (PIC), where a special live jazz performance was given by the Teruo Nakamura Trio (with Nakamura on bass, Hiromu Aoki playing piano, and Hiroshi Murakami on drums). Over 60 people packed into the PIC space. Yoshitaka Uematsu, the drummer who performed in Nakamura’s trio last November at another jazz performance at the World Bank, also made an appearance, and the 1st floor lobby of the Fukoku Seimei building in central Tokyo was buzzing with activity, as those heading home for work could not help but peek in to see where the jazzy beats were coming from.
The jazz performance drew more than 60 at PIC * PHOTO BY SHIRO KIMURA
Akiyoshi Miyashita’s photographs provided the backdrop for both the video seminar and the subsequent performance downstairs, and participants could get a full feel for Nakamura’s sound and his activism over the 12 years of Red Shoes Foundation tours. Teruo Nakamura left home for America 45 years ago all by himself, making a name for himself as a musician and producer on the American jazz scene. During his years in New York, Nakamura says he came to learn about how important it is to transcend race and other discriminatory boundaries as many of the friends and musicians around him were falling victim to HIV/AIDS, and his way of breaking the boundaries and opening peoples’ eyes is through his jazz. He saw an opportunity to bring a new understanding and awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic with his annual tours in Japan, bringing together live jazz at various venues, with leading experts who have lectured on the subject of HIV/AIDS at his concerts. He has continued this annual awareness tour for 12 years running, and last year, in cooperation with the World Bank, made a major public performance at the U Tant Hall at the United Nations University in Tokyo.
Venue:
World Bank Public Information Center (PIC Tokyo)
PIC Tokyo is located in the Fukoku Seimei Building lobby in Uchisaiwai-cho, Tokyo. Materials and displays related to development issues as well as information about the World Bank Group are located here, and provided free of charge to the public. The center is open from 10:00am – 6:00pm Monday – Friday.
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