Yoko Miwa

Since her arrival in the United States, Japanese improviser Yoko Miwa has earned a reputation for being one of the more lyrical, melodic and accessible pianists in the jazz world. Miwa has been based in Boston since 1997 and has become a part of the city's thriving jazz scene with her trio, which has become a fixture at the city's top jazz venues and has been a house band at Ryles since 2002. Jazziz Magazine says: "Pianist Yoko Miwa displays unpretentious melodies, elegant phrasing...

Born in Kobe, Japan, she began studying classical piano at the age of four and went on to study with jazz organist/pianist Minoru Ozone (the father of the well known Japanese pianist Makoto Ozone). She loved classical music, but eventually, jazz became her primary focus. She won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music and moved to Boston. After graduating from Berklee she became the personal accompanist for Grammy Award winning jazz singer Kevin Mahogany while he lived in Boston. She has released four CDs on major labels in Japan and has become a critically acclaimed and internationally recognized touring and recording jazz performer and educator. Her performance and recording credits include Slide Hampton, Arturo Sandoval, George Garzone, Jon Faddis, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Hunt, Kevin Mahogany, John Lockwood, Johnathan Blake, and Mike Turk. In May 2001, Yoko was honored as a featured performer in Washington D.C. at The Kennedy Center's "Mary Lou William's Women in Jazz Festival".

The Yoko Miwa Trio has played live in the studio on ?Eric in the Evening? WGBH Jazz Radio Show with host Eric Jackson, was featured on the National Public Radio Show ?Jazz After Hours?, and was interviewed live on the popular radio show "Voice of America" broadcast worldwide.

Her recent debut at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston and The Philadelphia Museum of Art were both sold out concerts which followed a summer tour in Japan supporting her latest CD release: ?The Day We Said Good Bye?.