Results for "Mayuko Katakura"

Musician

Mayuko Katakura

Born in Sendai, Japan, the daughter of two jazz musicians, Mayuko Katakura seemingly has jazz in her DNA. She began playing piano at age five, and through her childhood studied mostly classical music. As she got older, Thelonious Monk became her main influence. While still a student at Sezoku Gakuen Junior College, she was invited to join a band with former Berklee faculty member Bob Zung and alumnus Masakiko Osaka. After graduating from Senzoku, Mayuko performed with Seiichi Nakamura, Kazunori Sawada, and many other jazz musicians in Japan. Mayuko came to Boston in the fall of 2003 to study at Berklee and will graduate next year.

Article: Rising Stars

Meet Alto Saxophonist Erena Terakubo

by Sanford Josephson
August 2, 2025

For many years, trumpeter/educator Tiger Okoshi has been directing the Hokkaido Grove Jazz Camp during summers in Sapporo, Japan. At one of his first camps, he met a 12-year-old alto saxophonist named Erena Terakubo."She was shining, and she knew it," he recalled. “She was determined, driven, and already sounded like a young Charlie Parker."

Video

Mayuko Katakura Quintet Live from Body & Soul in Tokyo

Featuring the music of Mayuko Katakura
Duration: 3:28
July 18, 2024

Mayuko Katakura's latest stage performance, a duo concert at Oh!Jazz. Mayuko Katakura is a pianist with a world-class musical background, one of the top jazz musicians in Japan. She is known for her thorough stage presence, and her compositional preparation and team bookings are flawless.

This time, Mayuko Katakura will lead the two- wind quintet on this valuable stage.

Mayuko promises to captivate with her original compositions. In her own words, she shares, "I'll express my thoughts toward the jazz quintet through music with my own words." Don't miss this extraordinary musical journey!