Saxophonist Sadao Watanabe appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) on March 17th, where he spoke about memories of his late wife and his daily life.
In 2010, at the age of 77, he lost his wife. He met her at a small jazz café in Yurakucho, Tokyo. She was the daughter of a restaurant owner in Ningyocho, and he revealed, "She was so generous, I admired her. So I asked her to marry me." He performed a song in memory of his wife in the studio.
He went to the United States to study jazz and returned to Japan in 1965. After that, he taught jazz theory at his home about three days a week. For about four years, 30 to 40 people took his lessons, and his wife cooked for them. He recalls, "The students would ask my wife what we were having for dinner that day, even though they were there for a lesson."
She currently lives with her daughter. Her daily routine is pretty much set. "I woke up at 5 a.m. today. I wander around the neighborhood for about an hour starting at 5 a.m.," she says, adding that she goes for walks and "there are about three parks, so I hang from the monkey bars and do squats."
He revealed his daily routine: for breakfast, he eats toast, peanut butter, jam, yogurt, tea, and fruit. After that, he takes a short nap before picking up his saxophone and practicing.
