Toshiko Akiyoshi is a Japanese-American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader.
Lewis Nash is an American jazz drummer. According to Modern Drummer magazine, Nash has one of the longest discographies in jazz and has played on over 400 records, earning him the honor of Jazz's Most Valuable Player by the magazine in its May 2009 issue.
Sadao Watanabe is a Japanese jazz musician who plays alto saxophone, sopranino saxophone, and flute. He is known for his bossa nova recordings, although his work encompasses many styles, with collaborations from musicians all over the world.
Japanese jazz is jazz played by Japanese musicians and connected to Japan or Japanese culture. The term often refers to the history of jazz in Japan, which has the largest proportion of jazz fans in the world, according to some estimates. Attempts at fusing jazz with Japanese culture in the United States are commonly termed Asian-American jazz.
Aoyama Gakuin is an educational institute in Tokyo, Japan, which comprises Aoyama Gakuin University, Aoyama Gakuin Women's Junior College, Aoyama Gakuin Senior High School, Aoyama Gakuin Junior High School, Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School, and Aoyama Gakuin Kindergarten.
Aoyama Gakuin University is a private university in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1874 by missionaries from the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was reconfigured in its current form in 1949 as part of Aoyama Gakuin. Aoyama Gakuin University celebrated its 140-year anniversary in 2014 and is one of Japan's oldest higher education facilities.
Last Live in Blue Note Tokyo is the ninth recording released by the New York-based Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. Not to be confused with the 1997 Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio release, Live at Blue Note Tokyo '97.
Toshiko at Mocambo was recorded by jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi at the Mocambo club in Yokohama, Japan, in the summer of 1954. All four tracks from this recording as well as additional tracks from the same all-night live session with and without Akiyoshi were released on the 3 CD Rockwell – Polydor / Universal album, The Complete Historic Mocambo Session '54 – including, reportedly, a performance of "It's Only a Paper Moon" with Akiyoshi attempting to fill in on bass.
Toshiko and Leon Sash at Newport is a live album recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957 and released on the Verve record label. All 4 Toshiko Akiyoshi tracks are also included on some later re-issues of the Norgran (Verve) recording Toshiko's Piano / Amazing Toshiko Akiyoshi.
Long Yellow Road and the nearly identical release, Tosiko Akiyosi Recital [sic] is a jazz trio recording made by the pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi in Tokyo in February 1961.
Birdland is a jazz club started in New York City on December 15, 1949. The original Birdland, which was located at 1678 Broadway, just north of West 52nd Street in Manhattan, was closed in 1965 due to increased rents, but it re-opened for one night in 1979. A revival began in 1986 with the opening of the second nightclub by the same name that is now located in Manhattan's Theater District, not far from the original nightclub's location. The current location is in the same building as the previous headquarters of The New York Observer.
Meditation is a jazz album by pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and her quartet, recorded in Tokyo in late February 1971 and released in Japan by Dan Records.
Sumie is a jazz album recorded by the Toshiko Akiyoshi Quartet in Tokyo in early March 1971 and released by Victor (Japan) Records. It is not to be confused with the 1979 release, Sumie by the Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band.
Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio featuring Motohiko Hino - Live at Blue Note Tokyo '97 is a jazz trio album recorded by pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi featuring drummer Motohiko Hino. It was recorded in 1997 in the Tokyo Blue Note club and was released by Nippon Crown Records.
Since her debut recording for Norgran Records in 1954, jazz pianist, composer, arranger and big band leader Toshiko Akiyoshi has recorded continuously – almost exclusively as a leader of small jazz combos and of her big bands – averaging one studio album release per year for well over 50 years. She has also recorded several live albums in solo, small combo and big band settings, including three big band concert videos. Akiyoshi has released multiple albums for Victor / BMG, Nippon Columbia, Toshiba, Discomate, Nippon Crown and other labels in Japan and for Norgran / Verve, RCA, Columbia / Sony, Concord and her own Ascent label in the US. All of her big band recordings and nearly all of her other early works have been re-issued on CDs over the years.
Blue Note Jazz Club is a jazz club and restaurant located at 131 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on September 30, 1981, by owner and founder Danny Bensusan, with the Nat Adderley Quintet being the featured performers for the night. The club's performance schedule features shows every evening at 8:00 pm and 10:30 pm and a Sunday jazz brunch with performances at 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm. The venue has also started a bi-weekly Late Night Groove Series giving New York's up-and-coming jazz, soul, hip-hop, R&B and funk artists an opportunity to showcase their talents on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 12:30 am. The club has locations in Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan; Milan, Italy; Waikiki, Hawaii; Napa, California; Beijing, China; and São Paulo, Brazil.
James J. Snidero is an American jazz saxophonist.
John Gross is an American saxophone, flute and clarinet player. He is the creator of a notational method called Multiphonics for the Saxophone.
Walt Weiskopf is an American jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, author, and educator. He has released 16 CDs as a leader and performed on countless other albums as a sideman, having worked with artists such as Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, and Steely Dan. Author and journalist Cicily Janus regards Weiskopf as "one of the best unknown musicians in the modern scene", and JazzTimes Magazine considers him to be underrated and "a highly potent tenor saxophonist who demonstrates a strong Trane-Rollins influence".
