Mark E. Rappaport

About me:

I'm an Australian citizen and a resident of Japan, but I was educated in American schools, so my vowels, R's and L's are perfectly normal. After 20 years in the advertising business I decided to call it a day (except for some freelance copywriting work that helps pay the bills) and began pursuing my musical interests in earnest. As a music producer I mainly work with koto player Michiyo Yagi (I'm also her manager, roadie, cook, and occasional husband), but I've also worked with people like saxophonist Billy Harper and guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly. I also produce musical events, usually featuring artists from Europe, especially Scandinavia. My main gig as a music critic was at "Music Magazine," a Tokyo-based Japanese-language pop music monthly, for whom I wrote the jazz-oriented-but-anything-goes column "Jazuja" for the better part of two decades. [In 2009 I "fired the magazine" for its current editorial policy that caters to the lowest common denominator of lip-syncing-idol-pop fans.]