Media Release
For Immediate Release | September 8, 2026
Japan Jazz Nights: Celebrating 50 Years of Australia–Japan Friendship
Australia-Wide Tour Dates Announced
Discover the next generation of Japan’s thriving jazz scene with Japan Jazz Nights, a large-scale touring performance series that will take place across seven Australian cities in October 2026: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Presented by The Japan Foundation (JF) and Eight Islands Co., Japan Jazz Nights is being held in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Japan and Australia. This exciting lineup features four groundbreaking Japanese artists at the forefront of the contemporary jazz scene: BIGYUKI, STEREO CHAMP, Tenors In Chaos and Misaki UMEI.
Japanese jazz has recently enjoyed a resurgence in popularity worldwide, with growing attention being paid to its contemporary scene. Starting with BIGYUKI’s performance at Melbourne International Jazz Festival, this extensive national tour gives Australians the rare chance to experience firsthand the creativity, diversity and vitality of contemporary Japanese Jazz.
Japan Jazz Nights will also include exciting collaborations with local Australian artists at performances throughout the tour. Through the universal language of music, this initiative aims to foster meaningful connections between Japan and Australia and strengthen cultural ties between the two countries.
For both longtime jazz lovers and newcomers to the genre, Japan Jazz Nights is an unmissable opportunity to experience these musical icons, as they showcase the beauty of their craft and shape the future sound of modern jazz.
Japan Jazz Nights Touring Schedule
Date October 16, 2026 (Fri), 8pm
Venue Max Watt‘s (Melbourne)
Performers BIGYUKI
Event Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Event Website / Tickets BIGYUKI – Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Date October 17, 2026 (Sat), 1pm – 5pm
Venue Fed Square (Melbourne)
Performers BIGYUKI
Event Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Event Website Free Jazz at Fed Square – Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Admission Free
Date October 18, 2026 (Sun), 7pm
Venue Oddio (Adelaide)
Performers BIGYUKI
Event Adelaide International Jazz Festival
Event Website TBA
Tickets AIJF Presents: Japan Jazz Nights – BIGYUKI
Date October 19, 2026 (Mon)
City Sydney
Details TBA
Date October 22, 2026 (Thur), 7pm
Venue Chapel Off Chapel（Melbourne）
Performers Tenors In Chaos, STERO CHAMP, Misaki UMEI
Event Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Event Website / Tickets Tenors in Chaos + Stereo Champ + Misaki Umei – Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Date October 23, 2026 (Fri), 10pm
Venue Liberty Theatre (Perth)
Performers BIGYUKI
Event Perth International Jazz Festival
Event Website BIGYUKI (JPN) • Perth International Jazz Festival
Tickets Megatix – BIGYUKI (JPN)
Date October 23, 2026 (Fri), 7pm
Venue Judith Wright Arts Centre, Fortitude Valley
City Brisbane
Event Brisbane International Jazz Festival
Event Website Japan Jazz Nights: Celebrating 50 Years of Australia–Japan friendship — Brisbane International Jazz Festival
Tickets Japan Jazz Nights: Celebrating 50 Years of Australia–Japan Tickets, Judith Wright Arts Centre, Fortitude Valley, Fortitude Valley | TryBooking Australia
Date October 23, 2026 (Fri), 9:30pm
Venue Molly (Canberra)
Performers STEREO CHAMP
Details TBA
Date October 24, 2026 (Sat)
Venue Canberra Nara Peace Park (Canberra)
Performers STEREO CHAMP
Event Canberra Nara Candle Festival
Event Website Canberra Nara Candle Festival
Admission Free
Date October 25, 2026 (Sun), 7pm
Venue Liberty Theatre (Perth)
Performers Misaki UMEI & Tenors in Chaos
Event Perth International Jazz Festival
Event Website Japan Jazz Nights • Perth International Jazz Festival
Tickets Megatix – Japan Jazz Nights
Date October 25, 2026 (Sun), 7pm – 8:30pm
Venue The Barn (Hobart)
Performers BIGYUKI
Event CJF Presents
Event Website BIGYUKI (JPN/USA) – Rosny Farm
Tickets Tickets for CJF Presents 2026
Date October 29, 2026 (Thur), 7pm – 10pm
Venue Heaps Normal Health Club (Sydney)
Performers Misaki UMEI, Cracked Suzies
Event Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival
Event Website Misaki Umei x Cracked Suzies | SIMA
Tickets Tickets for Misaki Umei & Cracked Suzies + Dorka
City-by-city schedule available at the Japan Jazz Nights webpage here.
PERFORMING ARTISTS
BIGYUKI
BIGYUKI is a New York-based keyboardist, composer and producer. He began playing the piano at the age of six and started his career as a session musician while studying at Berklee College of Music. After relocating to New York, he has collaborated with artists including Lauryn Hill, Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper and J. Cole. He also contributed to A Tribe Called Quest’s final album as both a performer and songwriter. Acclaimed for his distinctive musical voice that seamlessly bridges jazz, hip-hop and electronic music, BIGYUKI continues to captivate audiences at major festivals and concert stages around the world.
STEREO CHAMP
STEREO CHAMP are a band led by guitarist and composer May INOUE. Working from sharp rhythms and improvisation, they make music in which structure and freedom arrive at the same moment. Most of the repertoire is co-written by Inoue and bassist Ren YAMAMOTO. Within these carefully designed structures, each player’s choices and responses accumulate, and the music is remade on the spot every time. The line-up is May INOUE (guitar), Ren YAMAMOTO (bass), Shinpei RUIKE (trumpet), Shota WATANABE (piano, keyboards, synthesiser, kettle), Yasushi FUKUMORI (drums) and James MACAULAY (trombone). Rooted in jazz but never confined by it, their music is where beat, texture and improvisation intersect — and it comes into its own on stage. STEREO CHAMP play music that can only exist in that one moment.
Tenors in Chaos
Tenors In Chaos are a supergroup fronted by three tenor saxophonists working at the forefront of the Japanese jazz scene: Yu KUGA, Akihiro NISHIGUCHI and Tomoaki BABA. Kuga graduated top of his class from Berklee College of Music and has since ranged from Mrs. GREEN APPLE to Junko ONISHI, while leading the twelve-piece orchestra he writes and arranges for. Nishiguchi fronts his own band FOTOS and is among the most trusted players in the scene. Baba, who made his major-label debut on Universal Music, continues to build momentum. Behind these three very different voices are David BRYANT (piano), Takashi SUGAWA (bass) and Kazu ODAGIRI (drums). The band formed in Kobe in December 2021 and began in earnest in 2023 under trumpeter Takuya KURODA, who also gave them their name. They released Chaos on Kuroda’s aTak Records that November, followed by More Chaos in 2025. Their Blue Note Tokyo debut sold out immediately, and they have since supported KNOWER in Japan and played festivals around the country.
Misaki Umei
Misaki UMEI was born in Hyogo in 2002. She began piano at four and the Electone at six, starting to compose at the same time, and went on to study composition at Tokyo College of Music. A pianist, electronic producer and singer, she moves freely between acoustic ensembles and electronic production. In 2025 she was named one of 25 artists representing Japan in Rolling Stone Japan’s Future of Music. That July she released her first solo album, Asleep Above Creatures, on her own label .plum(es). Buoyant piano trios, finely worked string arrangements and electronica carrying her own voice sit together across the record — a vivid demonstration of her range. The album was nominated for the APPLE VINEGAR -Music Award- 2026, the prize founded by Masafumi GOTOH of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. On stage her reach has been just as wide. In February 2025 she joined Geordie Greep (formerly of black midi) as a member of his Japan tour, and in July she played ROOKIE A GO-GO at FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL ’25. In April 2026 she gave her first solo headline show at Shibuya WWW.
EDITOR’S NOTES
- Media interviews available upon request.
- Images on this webpage can be used for editorial purposes.
- For high-resolution images and different dimensions, please contact us.
Program Details
October 2026
Admission
Tickets available via festival and venue websites
Media Enquiries
(02) 8239 0055
General Enquiries
(02) 8239 0055
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Held in Commemoration of
