When SARS ended our successful run of live jazz in Shanghai,
I had to consider what's next for Greg Chako, back to Singapore,
to America, or to Japan, the country of my beloved wifes'
birth. We decided on Japan because it was the easiest and
most practical to accomplish, and also because I had heard
that jazz is popular in Japan. However, shortly upon our arrival
to Japan, my 37 yr. old wife was diagnosed with late stage,
deadly cancer. I had no job, no drivers' license, no Japanese
language skills, no family or friends, except for my ailing
wife. This terrible life changing situation consumed all my
time and efforts, and I could not be the 'Jazz Prophet' and
go-getter I used to be. All my focus was on my wife and our
continued survival under the most dire circumstances. When
my wife died I wrote my observations of her traditional Buddhist
funeral ceremony, included on this website: English
/ Japanese
Despite the personal problems described above,
I have been able to play a little in Japan, and it's mostly
thanks to the wonderful locally based players (and agents)
who have helped to get my name around when I was unable to
do so myself. It is by their thoughts that I am working at
all! But now that I am on my own, I look forward to more music
to come!
 In
2005/2006 my music career began to get back on track. I began
playing more, and I released 2 new CDs, my 6th to date, and
my first official release in Japan, called "Where
We Find Ourselves", and my 7th to date, called "Two`s
Company and Three`s a Crowd". The background story of
"Where We Find Ourselves" can be found here: (link)
Currently, I have two steady weekly gigs, every Tuesday night
with my trio at The Starboard Lounge of the Intercontinental
Hotel in Yokohama, and every Friday for more than a year now
at The Imperial Hotels` Aqua Lounge in Tokyo. In addition,
I play once every two months at the live house, Bar Bar Bar
in Kannai, and am increasingly active on the local music scene
in live houses (The Cotton Club, Motion Blue, B-Flat and others),
and for corporate and private events.
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