Miki Yamanaka Explained

Background:

person

Miki Yamanaka

Native Name:

山中みき

Native Name Lang:

Japanese

Birth Date:

1990

Birth Place:

Kyoto

Origin:

Kobe, Japan

Genre:

Jazz

Instrument:

Piano, organ

Spouse:

Jimmy Macbride^[1]

Module:

Embed:

yes

Miki Yamanaka (born 1990) is a Japanese jazz musician currently living in New York City.^[2]

Miki Yamanaka lived in Kyoto until she was 10, when she moved to Kobe. She became interested in jazz while playing in her junior high school big band.^[3] She moved to New York in 2012 and took a compositional residency at the Kennedy Center in 2015. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she recorded the album Stairway to the Stars in her living room with Mark Turner and Orlando le Fleming.^[4] For her first gig after the pandemic, Yamanaka wore a kimono outfit to honor her mother; since then she has dressed in one every time she plays.^[5]

Discography

As leader

Miki (2018, Cellar Live)
Human Dust Suite (2020, Outside In Music)
Stairway to the Stars (2021, Outside In Music)
Shades of Rainbow (2023, Cellar Music)
Chance (2024, Cellar Music)

As guest

Adi Meyerson - I Want To Sing My Heart Out in Praise of Life (2021, Independent)^[6]

Notes and References

Web site: Miki Yamanaka - BIO . 2024-01-21 . miki-yamanaka . en.
Web site: Smith . David . March 3, 2022 . David and Art - Finding a New Favorite . 2024-01-21 . KWBU . en.
Web site: 2022-05-23 . Miki Yamanaka . 2024-01-21 . Jazz Generation . en-US.
Web site: Enos . Morgan . April 19, 2023 . 10 Emerging Jazz Artists To Watch: Simon Moullier, Mali Obomsawin, Julieta Eugenio, Jeremy Dutton & More GRAMMY.com . 2024-01-21 . www.grammy.com.
Web site: Duersken . Sam . 2023-01-30 . Kimono-clad pianist set to light up Victoria stage - Monday Magazine . 2024-01-21 . www.mondaymag.com . en-US.
Web site: Meyerson . Adi . August 6, 2021 . I Want To Sing My Heart Out in Praise of Life . October 9, 2024 . Bandcamp.