It is a great honor, more than anything else, that our jazz band "Yasuo Arai & the Heavens Four" was chosen from among jazz players from all over the world to perform at the Beijing Olympics commemorative performances held in August 2008. We are thrilled to be able to represent Japan in the Olympics as a representative of music.
Our jazz band was officially invited from China to perform at the National Theatre "Jia Gong Hall" to a full house, and the performance was a great success!

On the day of the performance, I was very excited to go to the venue, probably because we had practiced only lightly the day before. As for the performance, I, Yumi Arai, started off without any problems as usual, and I could feel the audience's applause and excitement for each song, which made my performance much more enjoyable and successful than usual. I am sure the other members felt the same way as I did.

At the launch party after the performance, Dr. Yuan and Dr. Feng of the China Foreign Culture Corporation said, "Congratulations on your success! I will never forget the faces of those who were in tears and those who were relieved when Dr. Yuan and Mr. Feng of the China Foreign Culture Corporation said, "Congratulations on your success!

This time, I, as well as all those who accompanied me, were impressed by Beijing's beautiful sky, well-maintained cityscape, delicious food, and large scale of life beyond my imagination. Unfortunately, I was not able to watch the Olympic games, but I felt the new China to the fullest.

I would like to express how much effort Yasuo Arai, the leader of the delegation, and Mr. Feng of the Chinese government and Ministry of Culture made to make this commemorative performance a success, and I am sure there were many hardships that cannot be described to anyone who could lead to the success of the event. Thank you very much for this Beijing Olympics performance.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.