Japanese Jazz Emerging Artist Series
The Japan Information and Culture Center, The Japan Foundation, and Blues Alley Jazz Society presents the
Martha Kato Ensemble | April 18, 2016 | Monday at 8PM & 10PM As part of National Cherry Blossom Festival activities, the Embassy of Japan’s JICC, Japan Foundation, and Blues Alley Jazz Society are proud to host five nights (March 15-16, April 18-19) of Japanese jazz talent during its Japanese Jazz Emerging Artist Series at Blues Alley. For information on our March performances, please visit our Cherry Blossom Diary. All performances will take place at Blues Alley, which is located at 1073 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007. We are excited to welcome back Martha Kato for an encore performance from her appearance during the 2014 National Cherry Blossom Festival! Born and raised in Nagoya, Japan, Martha started taking classical piano lessons at age of three, and composition lessons at six. She has been on the stage and making recordings since childhood. Martha’s reputation as a pianist, accompanist, and composer has steadily grown with every performance. A graduate from The New School and a masters student of The Juilliard School, her interest was not only in classical music, but also world music, pop, gospel and jazz.
Originally from Tokyo, New York-based composer Miho Hazama is a brilliant, award winning composer and arranger, drawing from many different musical sources to create her own highly distinctive and original sound. As a composer, Ms. Hazama released her debut album “Journey to Journey” with a 13-piece chamber orchestra in 2012, which received not only “Album of the Year – New Star Award” from Jazz Japan magazine, but also universal praise from NPR, DownBeat, and JazzTimes. Ms. Hazama was recently honored to receive the 24th Idemitsu Music Award as a jazz composer for the first time in the awards history.
Chihiro Yamanaka, Universal Classics & Jazz recording artist, is one of the most exciting jazz pianists and composers of her generation, and the leader of the Chihiro Yamanaka Trio. Based in New York City, her international concert appearances have included Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Jazz Festival New York, and Tokyo Jazz Festival. As acclaimed as Chihiro is in the U.S. and Europe, she is even more popular in Japan, where she’s had an amazing series of successes, with sold-out concert tours and all the CDs reaching the #1 spot on the Japanese jazz charts. TICKETS NOW ON SALE! Tickets are sold online, over the phone at (202) 337-4141, or in person at the box office from 12-8PM. There is a $12 food/beverage minimum per person per show. Click HERE to purchase tickets. Doors open at 6 PM and the earliest of 9:45 PM for the second show unless otherwise posted. For more information, please visit http://www.bluesalley.com/. Interested in more great Japan-related activities in the area? Presented at: Directions: There is metered street parking and several parking garages in the area. Sponsored by: |
