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Karen Kurokawa wrote on December 27, 2009
For Steve Oda re "Modern Jazz Opera: Momotaro." The skit, originally aired on March 1, 1986, is from the now off-air t.v. variety show called Konya Wa Saiko (Tonight is Best) hosted by a famous comedian named Tamori. Tamori also has a daytime t.v. show that's still on the air, which my husband estimates has been going for about 25 years, because just like Konya Wa Saiko, he used to watch it before he moved to the USA. Tamori, who plays the grandmother and the bird in the Momotaro skit, is really blind in his right eye (hence his trademark eye patch) and plays the trumpet, although Shuji was reluctant to call him a trumpeter. He is well-known for doing these broad comedic skits that sometimes take classical stories and themes as their base such as the Peach Boy folk tale (Momotaro). He often would use really unexpected music (right) to turn them into "operas".
