Akiko Yano

In a rare West Coast appearance, singer, songwriter, pianist Akiko Yano is confirmed to perform at the Aratani Theater, Saturday, October 12. In this solo performance, she’ll sing and play the piano. Tickets for An Evening with Akiko Yano are available via Ticketmaster, Friday, April 26, at 10AM.

Yano started playing the piano in early childhood making her solo debut in 1976 with “JAPANESE GIRL” which she recorded in Los Angeles with Lowell George and other members of Little Feat.  With its creative sound that fused Japanese scales, folk songs, instruments with the pop, rock, jazz and contemporary music, it had a huge impact on the music scene at the time and Yano grabbed the music fans’ attention instantaneously, as it was said “Here comes a genius girl.”  In 1979-1980, Yano accompanied Yellow Magic Orchestra a.k.a. YMO (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono & Yukihiro Takahashi) on two world tours as a support member.  Since then, she has been working with a wide range of musicians from jazz/rock to classical music, such as Pat Metheny, Thomas Dolby, The Chieftains, Toninho Horta, and Marc Ribot, to name a few.  She recorded and toured with Anthony Jackson and Cliff Almond as a trio.  The duo with the electronica prodigy, late Rei Harakami and the piano duo with Hiromi showed audiences her free, unique, and highly skilled artistry. 

Yano also has composed the music and contributed as a voiceover actor for Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films.  Currently, Akiko Yano releases her records on Speedstar Records in Japan. She looks forward to sharing her music with fans who have been waiting for a long time, as well as with a new generation of fans.