September 18th, 2022 5pm Stage 3
Akemi Yamada (vocal, arrangement, & compositions)
Toru Dodo (piano)
Peter Slavov (bass)
Ronen Itzik (drums)
Akemi Yamada
Akemi Yamada, a native of Tokyo, has been presenting her colorful musicality with her soothing voice in her own creative style of jazz “Dreamy Jazz” based in New York City since 2008.
Akemi graduated from BFA jazz performance at City College of New York in 2007, where she studied with jazz legends and great such as Sheila Jordan, Mike Holober, Ray Santos, Ray Gallon, and John Patitutti
Akemi recorded her first solo jazz album “With A Song In My Heart” with Quincy Davis, Tal Ronen, and Chuck Stevens in 2007. After the first album, she had gradually established her Dreamy Jazz style by writing new jazz compositions or arranging jazz /bossa nova standards and performing with her own group. On top of her open ear developed through her musical upbringing, Akemi broadened both visual and musical horizon through her previous continental travel experience, jazz knowledge she earned from the jazz college years, and jamming experience with the jazz greats in Harlem. In Dreamy Jazz, Akemi searches for some soulful connection to the sophistication of jazz by blending contemporary jazz with more melodic or rhythmic elements from pop, Brazilian, classical, gospel, or Japanese traditional music. Her musical influence/inspiration is Pat Metheny, Toninho Horta, Stevie Wonder, Yumi Arai(Matsutoya), and Monday Michiru. Akemi recorded her original compositions in the album “Ta Bi Ji -My Journey-‘ in 2015 with Matteo Sabatinni, Jacob Varmus, Alex Pryrodnyy, Devin Starks, and Jerad Lippi. Akemi also recorded for a world’s top flautist Ronald Lashley’s compilation album “Christmas Jingles” in 2014.
Akemi has been actively performing shows in New York since 2008. The venues she performed include Jazz at Kitano where she was a regular performer from 2013 to 2019, Merkin Concert Hall, Drom, Columbia University, The Triad, Shrine World Music Venue, Nuyorican Poets Café, Liberty House, Silvana, Tsion Café, Ukehut, and Nomad, just to name a few. Musicians she played with include Helio Alves, Quincy Davis, Ray Gallon, Pete McCann, Boris Kozlov, Toru Dodo, Evan Gregor, Michael O’Brien, Rogerio Boccato, and Alex Kautz among many other greats.
Akemi also started touring to Japan annually since 2009 and performed at major jazz clubs such as Sometime Kichijoji in Tokyo, Take Five in Osaka, and B-flat in Sapporo. She has also performed in Taiwan in 2019 in a fine jazz venue Marsalis Home Taipei.
Akemi’s radio appearances include “The Jazz Life” show at 88.7FM (New York / New Jersey), “The Jake Fineberg Show “ in November 2018 (Arizona), and a Harlem jazz radio show “Voice of Harlem” WHCR 90.3 FM in May 2019.
During and after pandemic, Akemi stayed in NY and has been performing online shows such as Youtube live streaming project “Yurui (Low Key) Acapella Session” weekly, and “Music While We Are Inside”, while continuing to actively perform shows in the various venues in the New York City.