Momma, I Want to Swing.(Japanese drawn to gospel music)(Brief Article)

On a recent sweltering afternoon, about a dozen Japanese housewives, students and office workers gathered inside a tiny church on West 126th Street in Harlem. Staring at lyrics printed on bright yellow sheets of paper, they listened as the pastor explained the gospel song they were about to learn. "This song we call a praise song," said Terrance L. Kennedy, from his seat behind the organ. "We're saying many wonderful things to God and about God." Then he began reading the verses, stressing their syncopated rhythm. "We sing praises to the king, for he is the king of kings," said Kennedy. "We sing praises to the king, for he's the king of kings." The singers, organized by sopranos, altos and tenors, repeated the verses as best they could. Words like "hail" and "Immanuel" (a Hebrew term for God) had to be translated. But half an hour later, the choir members--a mix of tourists and regulars who live around New York--were swaying, clapping their hands and singing at the tops of their voices. The pronunciation was a little off, but the soul was definitely there.

Kennedy's pupils are among the growing ranks of Japanese who have become enthralled with black gospel music. In Tokyo alone, there are now 25 to 30 choirs. Countrywide, the number may be more than 100. Tommy Tomita, founder of the Harlem Japanese Gospel Choir, says it all started with the 1992 film "Sister Act," in which Whoopi Goldberg teaches a choir of nuns to swing. It was a huge hit in Japan. Ronnie Rucker, an upstate New York native who runs a choir at Chofu Minami Christ Church in Tokyo, says gospel music has an inherent attraction for the Japanese. It ...