Toshiko Akiyoshi
| Toshiko Akiyoshi | |
|---|---|
Toshiko Akiyoshi in 1978
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Toshiko Akiyoshi (穐吉 敏子 Akiyoshi Toshiko?) |
| Also known as | "Toshiko", Toshiko Mariano, 秋吉 敏子 |
| Born |
12 December 1929 Liaoyang, Manchuria, Republic of China |
| Origin | Beppu |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, arranger |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1946–present |
| Labels | Norgran, Columbia, Victor, RCA/BMG, Discomate, Inner City, Nippon Crown, ... |
| Associated acts |
Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band, Toshiko - Mariano Quartet Signature：
|
Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band, Toshiko - Mariano Quartet
Toshiko Akiyoshi (秋吉 敏子 or 穐吉 敏子 Akiyoshi Toshiko?, born 12 December 1929) is a Japanese jazz composer/arranger, bandleader and pianist.
She has received 14 Grammy nominations, and she was the first woman to win the Best Arranger and Composer awards in Down Beat magazine's Readers Poll. In 1984, she was the subject of a documentary film titled Jazz Is My Native Language. In 1996, she published her autobiography, Life with Jazz and in 2007 she was named an NEA Jazz Master by the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.
Akiyoshi was born in Liaoyang, Manchuria to Japanese emigrants. She was the youngest of four sisters. In 1945, after World War II, Akiyoshi's family lost its home and returned to Japan, settling in Beppu. A local record collector introduced Akiyoshi to jazz by playing a record of Teddy Wilson playing "Sweet Lorraine". Akiyoshi immediately loved the sound, and began to study jazz. In 1952, during a tour of Japan, pianist Oscar Peterson discovered Akiyoshi playing in a club on the Ginza. Peterson was impressed, and convinced record producer Norman Granz to record Akiyoshi. In 1953, under Granz's direction, Akiyoshi recorded her first album with Peterson's rhythm section: Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on double bass, and J. C. Heard on drums. The album was released as Toshiko's Piano in the U.S. and as Amazing Toshiko Akiyoshi in Japan.
...
Wikipedia