The 31st Jozenji Street Jazz Festival (sponsored by the Association), held in the center of Aoba district, Sendai City for the first time in three years, ended on the 11th after two days. Although the festival enjoyed good weather during the event, visitor numbers were limited to around 200,000, in part because the scale was drastically reduced to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. In 2019, the number was around 770,000.
On the 11th, various songs such as jazz and rock were performed on six stages, including Kotodai Park Citizen’s Square in the Aoba district. This year’s “Finale” did not set up a main venue to avoid crowds, and all stages were completed around 5:30 p.m.
At Kotodai Park Citizen’s Square, the big band “Swinging Hard Orchestra”, which has been performing continuously since the first time, will perform at the end. They performed a total of 6 songs and received thunderous applause from the audience.
Masatoshi Muto, 64, president of the association, said in his closing speech: “Next year we will start moving to make it more free and closer to a jazz festival.”
Hiroshi Hayashi, a 65-year-old teacher from Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture, said with satisfaction, “It was a meaningful two days because I was able to enjoy Mori no Miyako’s high-quality jazz.”
According to the association, the number of interpreters for the two days was lower than expected due to the influence of the new coronavirus, with a total of 480 people divided into 86 groups.
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