Jazz in Fuchu [ けやき音楽祭 ] is a yearly free jazz music festival held within walking distance of Fuchu station [ 府中 ] in Tokyo. With 24 indoor and outdoor venues, 130 bands take turns playing live music from 11 am to 8 pm. Some venues have seats available and others crowds just gather around standing. There are some bands that sound amateur but also quite a few decent ones, although the music isn't necessarily jazz. The good thing is, if you don't like what you're hearing, just move on to the next venue!
The group above is an instrumental band called LUCA, and I thought they were pretty good - full of energy and very entertaining. They were playing at Okunitama Shrine [ 大國魂神社 ]. It was a cool atmosphere to be outdoors sitting under the trees, listening to good music.
This band above amusingly-named C.O.C (Crime of Conscience) I quite like. I thought they were fantastic and the lead singer, Yuta, was hilarious to watch. They seem to love what they do, and it's great to see that!
For more information, see the Japanese site, Jazz in Fuchu. The next one is October 13, 2014. To get there, take Keio Line [ 京王線 ] from Shinjuku [ 新宿 ] for 24 minutes. It will cost 270 yen. The event itself is free, but you can make donations towards next year's event (they give you a big sticker with the logo of the event if you do). There are free booklets around with a map of all the venues and the schedule which is also on their website.
