Akiko Yano | |
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| Born | (1955-02-13)February 13, 1955 (age 70) Tokyo, Japan |
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| Years active | 1970s–present |
Akiko Yano (矢野 顕子,Yano Akiko, bornAkiko Suzuki (鈴木 顕子,Suzuki Akiko); February 13, 1955) is a Japanesepop andjazz musician and singer born inTokyo and raised inAomori and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s. She has been called "one of the major musical talents of the Japanese popular music world",[1] and her vocals and singing style have been compared to English singerKate Bush (who she predates by several years).[2][3]
She has recorded withYellow Magic Orchestra and its membersRyuichi Sakamoto,Haruomi Hosono andYukihiro Takahashi, as well as withSwing Out Sister,Pat Metheny,The Chieftains,Lyle Mays, members ofLittle Feat,David Sylvian,Mick Karn, Kenji Omura,Gil Goldstein,Toninho Horta,Mino Cinelu,Jeff Bova,Charlie Haden,Peter Erskine,Anthony Jackson,David Rhodes,Bill Frisell,Thomas Dolby, the bandQuruli,Rei Harakami asYanokami and her daughterMiu Sakamoto.
Akiko Yano was born Akiko Suzuki inTokyo in 1955. She grew up inAomori, Japan,[4] and learned to play the piano when she was three.[4] She dropped out of high school and moved to Tokyo at the age of fifteen to become a professional musician, quickly became involved in the jazz scene, and by seventeen was working as a studio recording artist for hire.[5][6] She also performed with the bandTin Pan Alley.[1]
Yano's debut album,Japanese Girl, was released on July 25, 1976,[3] was a major hit in Japan, and gave Yano overnight success.[7] The album was recorded in Los Angeles withLittle Feat, and of the album's ten tracks, she wrote nine of them.[8][5] The album has been praised for its unique blend of different musical styles such as jazz, pop, blues, and traditional Japanese folk music, and "still sounds fresh today", according to Paul Bowler ofRecord Collector magazine.[9] The success led to her self-producing the second album,Iroha Ni Konpeitou, which was released in 1977.[5] It was recorded primarily in Japan, and features Yano improvising on a variety of instruments, backed up by prominent musicians such asRick Marotta andHaruomi Hosono.[10] Around this time, Yano started collaborating withYellow Magic Orchestra and joined them on two world tours.[5] They also played as the backing band for her 1980 albumGohan Ga Dekitayo, which translates to "Dinner's Ready", and marked a shift in her musical style towards electro-pop.[11] The album was also one of the earliest CDs ever released in 1982.[12]
1981'sTadaima ("I'm Home") has become one of the most beloved of Yano's discography, and also one of her personal favorites.[5] The record company asked for an album that would be a commercial success, so Yano gave them what they wanted on side one, but took side two in a different avant-garde direction, composed around nine short stories that were written by children.[5] The album once again featured the Yellow Magic Orchestra, as well as a cartoonishheta-uma cover designed byTeruhiko Yumura,[13] but was only released in Japan.[14] The album's single "Harusaki Kobeni" was released before the album was recorded, and reached the top 40 chart after being used in cosmetics commercials.[15][16]
Yano was introduced to British band,Japan, by Ryuichi Sakamoto of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and in 1982 they met at theAIR Studios in London to record an album,Ai Ga Nakucha Ne ("There Must Be Love").[17] The record company, Japan Record, released the album as a set with a book of photography and at a lower price, as requested by Yano.[18] After her 1984 albumOh Hisse, Oh Hisse, Yano took a one-year break from recording music to raise her children, and decided to refocus her career on jazz, which led to the 1989 albumWelcome Back featuringPat Metheny,Charlie Haden andPeter Erskine.[5] She relocated to New York City in 1990.[4]
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Yano's credits extend beyond her album projects. She was showcased by Japanese animation film companyStudio Ghibli, which is known for works such asPrincess Mononoke andSpirited Away. Yano composed the music for the filmMy Neighbors the Yamadas[19] (as well as performing a minor role as Fujihara-sensei) and created and performed the sound effects using only her voice for two short filmsYadosagashi[20] andMizugumo Monmon[21] by animation directorHayao Miyazaki. Both films were shown at theGhibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo. More recently in 2008, Yano performed as a voiceover actress onPonyo on the Cliff by the Sea as Ponyo's sisters.[22] In addition, Yano composed music for Toei's animated feature,Atashin'chi[23] and piano-based soundtrack for the filmTagatameni.[24]
As an international artist, Yano has toured Europe extensively, performing atTheMontreux Jazz Festival,Café de la Danse, andCité de la Musique in Paris. In 2002, she also performed a week of special concerts atPizza Express in London. In the United States, Yano has performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and New York City where she periodically plays concerts throughout the year atJoe's Pub at theNew York Public Theater. In July 2009, she performed at theNorth Sea Jazz Festival along with fellow pianistHiromi Uehara.[25]In recent years she has appeared at theBlue Note in New York as a guest performer forJanis Siegel ofThe Manhattan Transfer, and as part of a trio withAnthony Jackson on bass andCliff Almond on drums in concerts at theBlue Note Tokyo since 2003. In 2008, New York guitaristMarc Ribot joined Yano for sold-out shows at theBlue Note Tokyo.
Yano joined withRei Harakami to create the duoYanokami, and in 2007 they released their first studio albumYanokami.[26] In 2009,Will Lee andChris Parker joined her to form the Akiko Yano Trio.[27]
Yano married and soon after divorced Makoto Yano, the producer of her first recording.[4] In 1975, her son Fuuta Yano was born.[3] She later married fellow musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, with whom she had a daughter,Miu Sakamoto. The young couple can be seen playing a duet on the piano at home in the 1985 documentaryTokyo Melody.[28] Yano separated from him in 1992, and they divorced in August 2006.[29] Yano is Christian.[30]
First, its playful editing style mirrors Sakamoto's creative energy and curiosity, and shifts between the whimsical and the poignant (as with his piano duet with Akiko Yano at home).
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