“Oke-Battle!” 97. The Street Corner Boy and the Melancholy Trumpeter

97. The Street Corner Boy and the Melancholy Trumpeter

Short Play: “The Legend of 1900”

CAST
Trumpeter: Tadashi Kamino (A)
Music Store Owner: Timpanist (B)
Pianist: Gento Aride (B)
Beauty with a Parasol: Suzune Miyanaga (MC)
Passerby: Volunteer (B)
Scout: Takiaki Shiroki (A) (Recorded source)
Orchestra: Team A
Conductor: Hiroki Anjo (A)

A pianist who was born in secret on a luxury liner, raised by the crew, and has lived his entire life as the ship's resident musician without ever having experienced disembarking.
His talent is so magnificent that it cannot be ignored, and a recording session is held in a room on the ship.
He wonders what to play. As he idly plays with the piano, producing vivid scales and graceful arpeggios, his eyes are suddenly drawn to a beautiful woman passing by the window. A melody of love appears as if a single ray of sunlight has pierced through a labyrinth of aimless sounds.
It is not that his music until then had been completely devoid of poignant emotions like longing or loneliness, but for him, music was fundamentally a fun world filled with the mastery of perfect technique.

Then, love was added to it.

The woman passes by quietly, but the song of love continues to be played...

As the audience sits in complete silence, the divine time of the piano solo ends, the lights dim, and the sound effect of a needle scratching on an LP record—pop... pop...—plays, as if the record had finished but the needle was still riding on it. In such an atmosphere, applause is withheld, and the narration of the melancholy trumpeter, Tadashi Kamino, overlaps.

“The beautiful music that was born in that moment, the very moment he fell in love. The master disc, the only one of its kind in the world, was never pressed or released.
‘This music belongs to her. It should be dedicated only to her, so I will give it to her,’ he said.”

The lights brighten, the pianist is gone, and the scene returns to the music store where the owner and the trumpeter are talking.

“So this was that one-of-a-kind master disc...”
The surprised owner gently removes the record from the player.
“But in the end, he never gave it to her, and he broke the master disc himself.”
“So that’s why it was broken.”
“I couldn't bear to let it go, so I picked it up from the trash and repaired it with glue... I hid it inside the ship's piano.”
“Ah, it just popped out of the old grand piano I bought. I was wondering how that happened.”
After a short pause, the owner asked,
“What about that pianist? Will he never play this song again?”
“He...”
The trumpeter looked into the distance.
“The ship was scrapped due to aging. But he couldn't bring himself to step onto land.”
The trumpeter hangs his head, tearing up.
“Along with the ship...”
He couldn't bring himself to say that he had vanished into the sea.
After a moment of silence, the owner said firmly,
“Then you have to carry on this song.”
He puts the trumpet back in its case and pushes it back to him.
“Take it. You don't have to pay me back.”
“Huh?”
“If you aren't getting any band work, just play on the street corner. Carry on this song. Along with his feelings.”
As the trumpeter wipes his eyes, bows deeply to the owner, and reaches out for a handshake, the stage goes almost completely dark.

As the second half of the simple “Playing Love” played on the trumpet is heard, Tadashi Kamino, playing in the center of the stage, is illuminated by a spotlight. People who look like passersby appear one after another, and while making gestures of calling out or offering encouragement, they put bills and coins into the instrument case at his feet.
When it goes dark again, a narration by a dignified male voice follows.
“You’ve got talent. The sound is wonderful, too. How about it? Won't you join our band?”

The stage brightens, and the scene shifts to the orchestra playing several of Ennio Morricone's masterpieces.
The melancholy trumpeter, Tadashi Kamino, is also seated as a member of the orchestra. Under his worn-out coat, he is actually wearing a tuxedo—a quick-change trick. He looks dignified, confident, and proud.
Starting with the heart-wrenching, beautiful melody from the film “La Califfa” (unreleased in Japan), followed by the romantic and poignant main theme of “Once Upon a Time in America” and its stylish jazz version, the mood shifts as the distinctive rhythm of “The Untouchables” increases the tension and contrast.
The music filled with longing from the remake of “An Affair to Remember” closes the first part, and the MC, Suzune Miyanaga, appears quietly. The woman with the parasol from earlier was her, but she simply took off her MC jacket and put on a long skirt that dragged on the floor. Since she had hidden her face and even her hairstyle with the parasol, no one realized she was the same person as the MC—this was also a quick-change trick, just like the trumpeter's.
“‘The Legend of 1900’ is a little different from the movie, but it can be said that it is a stylish gesture to introduce beautiful masterpieces along with a little play like this.”
Since the original work was written as a stage play, a short play is a natural style.
Then, she quickly brightens her voice and clearly introduces the flow that follows.
“The first part, which closes the screen music section, is the musical master Richard Rodgers. Although there is no singing on stage this time, he left behind countless unforgettable works with his golden partner, Oscar Hammerstein II, who wrote the lyrics.
We will start with the gem of a masterpiece from ‘Carousel,’ ‘You'll Never Walk Alone,’ followed by a medley of masterpieces from ‘The Sound of Music.’ The magnificent title theme, the famous and fun ‘Do-Re-Mi,’ ‘My Favorite Things,’ ‘Edelweiss,’ and the moving ‘Climb Ev'ry Mountain.’”

As Suzune returns to the stage left wing with satisfaction, the stage manager, Iwatani, says gravely,
“At this point, we should have already started the intermission.”
“What!? Are we running behind? If I had known, I could have skipped the talk.”
“That wouldn't be enough to make up for it. The performance after this. About 10 minutes, I think.”
“If it's only that much, isn't it within the acceptable range?”
Iwatani shakes his head 'no' and explains.
This venue is far from the station and there are no local buses, so the only means of transportation for guests other than private cars is the shuttle bus. Some guests are cutting it close to their Shinkansen departure times. Even if the performance ends at 15:45, this time a special period for filling out questionnaires has been set aside, and the guests have been told that it will end at 15:50. Therefore, Iwatani explained that this must be strictly observed.

“Then couldn't they just write the questionnaire at home and fax it, or email it later?”
“It affects the outcome of the battle, so filling it out at the venue is mandatory. I can't compromise on that.”
“Then, there will be no curtain call for Team A. Pianist Mr. Aride, the music store owner, and the beautiful passerby. Oh, that's me.”
“Of course, there won't be.”
“Could we shorten the intermission after this?”
“It's a 500-seat hall, so I want a 15-minute break. It seems like it will take time for people with children and such. The only way is to have Team B shorten their time by 10 minutes.”
At Iwatani's words, Suzune jumped up, saying, “What!?” Although it was in a low voice during the performance.
“If that's the case, you could have just cut the whole ‘Sound of Music’ corner by Rodgers just now.”

Even if it was the conclusion of the first part by “The Legend of 1900,” it would have achieved a sufficient effect. With a gorgeous curtain call added. In fact, it might have left a stronger impression as a production.
“The director's fundamental instruction was, ‘Even if the first half team is about to go over time, do not warn them. However, strictly observe the end time.’”

Suzune imagined a mean-spirited teacher.
One who watches a brat trying to play a prank, secretly keeps an eye on them, and the moment they do it, scolds them as if they've caught a demon, makes them stand in the hallway, and reports it in red pen in the contact book for the parents.
Instead of just watching and saying, 'I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it,' you should stop them before that!
Or a traffic enforcement officer who watches a confusing intersection with poor signage, waiting like a tiger for a violator to appear, and mercilessly catches them the moment a victim misses it. Not someone who tells you in advance that it's dangerous, but someone who seems to be waiting for violations...
Even Suzune Miyanaga, a self-proclaimed little devil who calmly pulls off minor cheating, cutting corners, and clever maneuvering without feeling guilty, felt that this was a terrible conspiracy by the program side that even involved innocent audience members. As for Asami Fujino's thoughts, one wonders if Chairman Nagaoka knows about this.
“We should let Team B know immediately.”
Although she had no intention of appearing in a curtain call, Suzune gave the cruel absolute order to shorten the program by 10 minutes to the guest performers of the short play who were watching the stage from the wings after finishing their turn: the pianist of the legend, Gento Aride, the timpanist playing the store owner, and the person playing the passerby.

“Then, let’s skip the first half’s quiz format, the participatory style where we ask the audience to raise their hands.”
Gento Aride judged calmly, showing no signs of dissatisfaction.
“Once the performance without the melody is over, please just keep moving right along with something like, ‘What song was that? Now, let’s listen to the original song...’ I might cut the original songs short depending on the audience’s reaction, so please stay on stage and wait on the stage-left side.”
“Understood,” said Suzune, the emcee.
“Have you handed out the programs to the audience?”
“No.”
“Then we can skip the planned songs, right?”
Aride spoke to his fellow Team B members, including the timpanists who were fuming on the sidelines about why they had to have 10 minutes cut from their time.
“Let’s cut ‘Arabian Dance’ and ‘Reed Flutes’ from the suite. I feel bad for the oboist who has to switch to English horn, though.”

In fact, although these two pieces were included in the suite by Tchaikovsky’s own choice, for a strictly curated 45-minute program for a family-oriented concert like this, they tended to lack impact even if they were good pieces. Aride had secretly wanted to exclude them if possible, as they were also the parts that left a weak impression even on the visually-focused ballet stage.
However, he had hesitated because he felt that removing them from the suite was a desecration of the composer he revered, so conversely, this was actually a chance. The situation of having 10 minutes less was not a loss, as he could condense the maximum effect into a shorter time.
Moreover, although the “Dance of the Reed Flutes” is a piece where three flutes show off their gorgeous colors, his team only had one flutist. It would have been difficult to give the best performance anyway. Phew.
Of course, Gento Aride kept that to himself so that Team B could continue to pretend they were the victims.

“We’ll also skip the explanations prepared for each piece of the suite and play all five pieces in a row. Please just introduce each piece briefly all at once.”
Then Aride emphasized this strictly to Suzune.
“However, we will pause just before the ‘Waltz of the Flowers,’ so please make sure to include the lines from the script regarding this piece exactly as planned. Absolutely, please. I’m counting on you.”

After Team A’s moving finale ended and the performers came off-stage with a sense of accomplishment, Tsutomu Takigawa, Team B’s nimble double bassist, nodded gently. After first expressing his appreciation with applause, he raised his hand to get everyone’s attention.
“Babysitter relief crew! Please dash over to Remi Kono’s room, room 503. Changing clothes and such can be done in shifts and left for later.”
“Okay! For now, we’ll head over just like this!” Two female violists disappeared into the back while still carrying their instruments.

When Tom-kun safely returned to the Team B territory on the stage-right side, the members were already gathered, and there was a somewhat uneasy atmosphere.
They were grumbling things like, “Why do we have to be the ones to lose out?” or “Once they started running over, the stage manager should have warned Team A or called a halt and stopped them midway!” or “Are two songs we worked so hard to rehearse going to be wasted?”
There were even extreme opinions that they should force through the original 45-minute program, regardless of the survey time or the Shinkansen schedule.
However, irritation and anger before a performance are not good for mental health.
“Hey, everyone?” Aride began to soothe them.
“For example, sometimes a one-minute talk conveys a message more clearly than a three-minute talk, right? Why don’t we decide to look at this time as something similar?”
It was a rare way of speaking for the standoffish Gento Aride.
“We’re already going from familiar popular music to classical music, right? Usually, it’s the other way around, isn’t it? Classical first, then light popular music in the second half. Come to think of it, we should be at a disadvantage. By condensing the time, we’ll actually create contrast and turn it to our advantage.”
It was a bit of a sophistry to soothe everyone, but they forced themselves to adopt a positive attitude, thinking, “Maybe we should just honestly follow Aride-san’s opinion.”
“In the first place, Team A wasn’t stopped just because their time was up, and we won’t have a buzzer go off and be forced to end, so everyone, please don’t worry about the time and feel free to concentrate on the performance.”
He relaxed his teammates by mixing in a half-serious joke. However, Aride, who was in charge of conducting, was prepared to keep a close eye on his watch while proceeding.
Gento Aride. He was a genius at turning adversity into an advantage.

The second part featured famous pieces to enjoy through a quiz and “The Nutcracker.” The concertmaster was the reliable Masamichi Bessho, and Gento Aride was in charge of conducting.
Some in the audience noticed, “Oh? The pianist from earlier is conducting now? And wait, are the orchestra members different?”
The opening was “Morning” from Grieg’s “Peer Gynt.”
It was carefully selected as music that allows one to enter naturally from among all the famous classical pieces, offering a depth and delicacy unique to classical music that utilizes the characteristics of each instrument in a way different from film music, and allows one to experience the grandeur of nature as the world awakens.
Moreover, unlike the first part where everyone was dressed in monotone, the women in the second part wore colorful long dresses, each showing off their own colors. While properly formal, they were also enchanting to look at.
The emcee appeared, briefly touched upon the song title and composer, and then posed the question: “Now, what would happen if the melody were removed from this performance?” They then played the piece without the melody up to a good stopping point.

“Okay. It’s like this. If the melody is gone, it’s a bit hard to tell, right? But in an orchestra, even without the melody, many different instruments are used by the composer to add depth and color to the entire piece of music.”
She conveyed this brightly and clearly, and then, “Alright!” Suzune led the flow into the “What song is it?” corner.

First, they played a snippet with the melody part removed. Prompted by the emcee, they then played the same phrase with the melody. “You figured it out, right? Now, let’s listen to the whole song!” she introduced.

The prelude to Bizet-Guiraud’s spectacular Carmen Suite. Since the “Toreador Song” and others appear here, it is also very effective for the fun of removing the melody.
The all-too-famous Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” is from the incidental music for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The fanfare that decorates the glorious finale of the first Star Wars movie (Episode IV) is considered to have its origins in the fanfare at the beginning of this piece, so it can truly be called a representative of the world’s heroic fanfares.
The melody-removal corner ended with the Radetzky March by Johann Strauss I. In the full performance, the audience was encouraged to participate with clapping at the conductor’s signal, making it very fun and exciting.

“After this, we will present excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘The Nutcracker.’
The ‘Miniature Overture’ that hints at the beginning of an exciting story,
The ‘March’ by the spirited children who gathered for the party,
The ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,’ with the enchanting sound of the celesta, a rare instrument Tchaikovsky found in Paris while traveling,
The energetic Russian dance ‘Trepak’,
And the unique ‘Chinese Dance,’ where the flute plays a brilliant role. Please enjoy all five pieces in a row!”

Gento Aride would have loved to play the celesta himself, but he decided to leave the piano part to a violinist who could play the piano quite skillfully, and here he continued to conduct, brilliantly painting a dream world. From his two years of experience as a ballet rehearsal pianist in Paris, ballet music was his specialty, his forte. And even though it was a suite, Aride’s conducting naturally incorporated the rubato unique to ballet, as if the sight of dancers dancing or familiar choreography were floating before one’s eyes.
And when the audience was told, “Please enjoy all five pieces in a row,” they counted seriously in their hearts for the first and second pieces, and when the fifth piece ended, they applauded grandly. At the moment the bright “Chinese Dance” ended with a bang, a roar of applause erupted as if they had been waiting for it.

The emcee then spoke the script by Gento Aride quietly in a gentle, dreamily enchanting tone.
“The finale is the ‘Waltz of the Flowers,’ danced by the fairies of the Land of Sweets near the end of the ballet.”
Without holding any notes, she spoke with all her heart, as if the words were completely her own.

“Once, a Ukrainian male dancer who danced the role of the Nutcracker, that is, the Prince, in this ballet, said this in an interview:
‘Tchaikovsky’s ballet, “The Nutcracker,” was a mysterious dream world I had longed for since I was a child. Even now that I am blessed to be able to stand on stage in the middle of the story, as it nears the end, my heart tightens. It becomes so painful and unbearable because of the sadness. I cannot help but wish from the bottom of my heart that this dream world full of love would last forever...’”

As soon as Suzune finished speaking, the horn at the beginning of the “Waltz of the Flowers” and the piano arpeggio substituting for the harp were played fantastically.
It was not just a fun and wonderful waltz; both the audience and the performers were filled with happiness and immersed in the music, wrapped in the emotion that this was a sublime story from a fairy tale.
It was the brilliance of music commentary unique to a stage that utilizes the presence of a navigator, rather than just a simple performance.

Behind the vast mansion that was the battle venue, there were entrances for authorized personnel such as the hall’s backstage entrance, the facility staff’s service entrance, and the loading dock for large stage props, and there was also a parking lot for facility staff.
The street piano boy and the mother pushing the stroller were led by Team B’s Tom-kun and Remi to this back parking lot. This was a consideration to avoid other general guests thinking that only this parent and child were being given special treatment.
Oh? Is a trumpet playing? And it’s the song from the earlier skit. Isn’t that “Playing Love”?

With his back to the facility wall, facing the vast forest stretching out before him, the sight of Tadashi Kamino playing as if lost in thought was truly that of a melancholy trumpeter.

After finishing the piece, Kamino notices the group, and they applaud him in praise. How lucky they were to hear such a wonderful trumpet performance! Even the musicians Takigawa and Konno were thrilled, feeling goosebumps from what was a rare, masterful performance.
“Mister, that was amazing! So amazing!”
The street corner boy was overjoyed, jumping up and down with thunderous applause.
“But why are you playing in a place like this?”
Kamino answered, looking a little shy.
“You see, after every concert, I dedicate a performance like this to my father—he passed away a long time ago—to thank him. I finished today safely, too. Thank you very much. I wonder if the music reached heaven.”
“Your daddy died, mister?”
“Yes. A long time ago.”
Then, Kamino spoke in a lower voice to the boy's mother and the two people who happened to be there.
“In his mid-thirties. A sudden illness took him in the blink of an eye. Back when I was about his age.”
As the three adults were choosing their words, wondering how to respond,
“Before I knew it, I had long since passed my father's age, and now I'm nearly twice as old as he was. But even so, my father is still my father. He played the trumpet, you see.”
“Your daddy played the trumpet too? Just like you, mister?”
“I was still just a child, but I remember that he had a sound that was like magic. I always wished I could make a magical sound like that myself.”
At that, Tom-kun spoke up immediately.
“Kamino-san, your sound is magic. I think you're not just the best in Japan, but the best in the world.”
Satomi-san and the mother nodded, saying, “That’s right!”
“Young man, what is your name?”
Asked by Kamino,
“I’m Kanaya!”
“Kanaya, as in the 'kana' for performance and the 'ya' for arrow,”
the mother added.
Wow, what a perfect and wonderful name! everyone thought, impressed.
“Kanaya-kun, everyone was saying how beautiful your piano playing was,”
Kamino said, and Satomi and Tsutomu, who had actually heard the boy play piano yesterday, agreed in unison.
“It really was!”
“You have real musical talent!”
The mother also thanked them happily and whispered something to her son. Kanaya-kun nodded, saying, “Yeah!”
“But I want to try playing the trumpet! Hearing your trumpet, mister, made me want to play.”
“Do you want to try?”
Kamino offered, though he worried that if the boy couldn't make a sound, it might disappoint him instead.
“It doesn't have to be right now.”
The boy shook his head. But he couldn't resist his curiosity and was allowed to gently touch the golden trumpet. Even that was a heart-pounding experience for him.
“I like the piano, but I was talking to Mom about how I want to play the trumpet someday too.”
“He’s completely smitten now,”
the mother said happily.
“It was a truly wonderful concert. Thank you so very much. You even took care of the baby. Please give my best regards to everyone.”
She bowed politely and asked where they could hear everyone's performances in the future, causing the three to look at each other. Were they allowed to talk about it?
Satomi whispered to the mother so the boy wouldn't hear.
“This is for a Battle Series program that is scheduled to start airing next month. Since it is currently in the secret filming stage, please keep it confidential. Even from your child.”
Asking a young child to keep a secret is actually quite cruel.
The mother, whose eyes lit up, put a finger to her lips, showing she would keep the secret, saying, “Shh! Right?”
Meanwhile, Kanaya-kun and the trumpet mister exchanged a handshake, promising to play together someday.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!”
One of Satomi-san's three musketeers, the young bartender known as Aramis, appeared energetically.
“Whoa, the three of you in formal wear really are a sight to behold! I’m falling for you all over again.”
He gave a deep, exaggerated bow like a musketeer before turning proudly to the mother and child.
“Please wait right there. I’ll go bring the car around.”

The mother and child boarded the white Impreza with gratitude, though clearly sad to part ways. As they watched the car disappear behind the back gate, Tom-kun said,
“Kamino-san, you changed that kid's destiny.”
“From a piano boy to a trumpet-aspiring boy,”
Satomi added, and Kamino replied with a hint of humility, “You think so?”
“Well, it was you guys who kindly invited them, saying you'd look after the baby, so the responsibility lies with you.”
“Even so, I feel like we received a lot of happiness from that mother and child on the street corner.”
“The father away on business must be a good person, too.”
“Kanaya-kun kept saying, 'I wish Daddy could have heard it too.'”
“With such easygoing parents, he has a very musically blessed home environment.”
Satomi said to Kamino once more.
“It’s a shame about your father.”
“Seeing that boy just now reminded me of myself back then.”
Looking up at the sky, where the signs of dusk were beginning to appear, Kamino sighed.
“I really did look up to my father's trumpet...”
The figure of Tadashi Kamino muttering those words was truly that of a melancholy trumpeter.
His origin, right here.
The three headed toward the stage door.
That boy will surely continue to admire Kamino-san's trumpet forever... Thinking the same thing, Satomi and Tsutomu looked at each other with gentle expressions.

To be continued in 98. "That is forbidden..."

♪ ♪ ♪ People whose names appeared this time ♪ ♪ ♪

Kanaya-kun: A simple-hearted street corner piano boy

※ In the comments section, I talk about my memories regarding the real-life model for the melancholy trumpeter. Please take a look if you'd like.