At 63 years old, Rick Beato finally made his first trip to Asia — and what he discovered challenges everything he thought he knew about where jazz music thrives. In South Korea, he saw K-pop's massive influence on American culture; in Japan, he witnessed something even more surprising: Japanese audiences have reverently supported American jazz musicians for decades, hosting legendary players like Keith Jarrett 251 times while Atlanta .
South Korea's Cultural Rise
Beato spent two weeks traveling with his family through South Korea and Japan — his first-ever visit to Asia at age 63. The trip revealed how deeply these cultures have influenced Western entertainment.
South Korea has become a significant cultural exporter to the United States. Television shows like Squid Game dominate American streaming platforms, while K-pop music has been massively popular in America for roughly a decade. These aren't niche interests; they're mainstream phenomena that shape what Americans watch and listen to.
Japan's Jazz Revolution
Japan's relationship with American jazz surprised Beato most. During his Tokyo visit, he explored the city's legendary jazz clubs — particularly the Blue Note, which seats around 400 people and sits below street level like a subterranean sanctuary for the music.
Beato encountered saxophonist Ben Wendell's group during their first set. The show opened with "January," a track from Wendell's 2018 album The Seasons. The music was melodic yet dissonant — improvisational but structured enough to feel accessible. Beato's son Dylan, who claimed not to really like jazz, admitted the performance changed his perspective.
It wasn't really jazz. That's not that like I hear that and it's improvisational music. But it's melodic now. Maybe melodic.
The Japanese reverence for American jazz extends far beyond casual appreciation. Keith Jarrett performed 251 times in Japan throughout his career — a number Beato verified through interviews. When Beato looked up Jarrett's Atlanta history, he found almost no jazz musicians had played there since the late 1980s. Kurt Rosenwinkle, who is significantly younger than Pat Metheny, rarely performs in Atlanta either.
In contrast, young audiences in Japan actively seek out these musicians. At the Blue Note in Tokyo, the club was packed with engaged young people — something Beato says he never witnesses at Atlanta's Symphony Hall, where typical audiences are older season ticket holders.
Guitar Stores and Left-Handed Problems
After the shows, Beato and Dylan visited Tokyo's guitar stores — a street containing shop after shop selling instruments. The experience reminded Beato of Manhattan's 48th Street from the 80s and 90s, before online commerce devastated independent music retailers.
One surprising discovery: not a single left-handed guitar in any store they visited. Dylan plays left-handed and typically hates guitar stores because he can never play the instruments he tries. The absence reflected demand patterns — Tokyo's rock and metal scene is thriving, with Marty Friedman's influence lasting 20 years driving fusion and heavy metal interest.
Tokyo's population exceeds 38 million people; Japan's total population approaches 126 million. This isn't a small market. It's massive by any measure.
Atlanta's Vanished Scene
The contrast between Japan and America's music infrastructure stunned Beato most. When he moved to Atlanta, the city had numerous thriving music stores: Midtown Music, Guitar Center, Atlanta Discount Music, Righteous Guitars, Big House Music.
One memorable encounter occurred in 1995 or 1996 at Midtown Music. While talking to owner Dave, Beato met a guitarist playing a remarkable instrument — it turned out to be Zach de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine, working on their album Evil Empire. The band visited Atlanta regularly to record with Brendan O'Brien at Southern Tracks.
The stores eventually closed because of eBay and online pricing transparency. Customers could now determine exactly what gear was worth, eliminating profit margins that kept independent retailers alive. Big box companies followed, then online sellers completed the collapse.
Critics might note that Beato's observations about cultural appreciation, while valid, don't fully explain why American jazz infrastructure has decayed — the reasons involve complex economic factors beyond simple cultural preference.
Bottom Line
Beato's travelogue proves something uncomfortable: other cultures sometimes respect American musical traditions more than Americans do. Japan's 40-year devotion to Keith Jarrett versus Atlanta's complete neglect reveals where the jazz tradition actually lives today. The guitar store story suggests America's isn't reversible — and that Japanese markets might be what America once was.