Jazz Articles about Miki Yamanaka

About Miki Yamanaka

Radio & Podcasts

Miki Yamanaka Trio, Dennis Mitcheltree, Myra Melford and the Fire and Water Quintet

by Hobart Taylor
September 9, 2026

New Music from Miki Yamanaka, Wadada Leo Smith, Mali Obomsawin, and Remembering Cassandra Wilson and Chick Corea Host Speaks 00:00 Cassandra Wilson “Last Song (For Lester)" from Coming Forth by Day (Legacy) 00:06 Dwayne Dolphin “Were They Only Dreams" from Let the Music Play (Imani) 05:56 Miki Yamanaka “Wolfe" fromBreathe(Cellar) 10:34 Host Speaks 16:06 Patrick Shiroishi/Jason Nazary “another true story" from here i am no i (We Jazz) 17:39 Rebecca Hennessy “I Can Go to the River" from Drift (T-Sound) ...

Album Review

James Danderfer: If Not Now

Read "If Not Now" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
November 12, 2025

Clarinetist James Danderfer's If Not Now showcases warmth and craftsmanship. It is the kind of album that affirms jazz's enduring ability to blend tradition with personal expression. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's legendary Englewood Cliffs studio on November 4, 2024, the album features a select group including Steve Davis on trombone, Cory Weeds on tenor saxophone, Atley King on vibraphone, Miki Yamanaka on piano, Tyrone Allen II on bass, and drummer Kush Abadey. All nine compositions are by Danderfer, forming ...

Album Review

Jamile with Miki Yamanaka and her trio plus Steve Wilson: Pursuit of a Pulse

Read "Pursuit of a Pulse" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright

by Katchie Cartwright
October 22, 2025

Jamile Staevie Ayres, who goes professionally by her first name, was born and raised in Cachoeira do Sul, a midsize city located a couple of hours from Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil, and the heart of its gaúcho culture. Growing up, she gravitated toward música popular brasileira (MPB) and Black popular music of the US. Gal Costa and Aretha Franklin were her two big vocal heroines. She took her undergraduate degree in Brazil ...

Album Review

James Danderfer: If Not Now

Read "If Not Now" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
October 9, 2025

The clarinet, which once was commonplace in jazz (think Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Pee Wee Russell, Tony Scott, Buddy DeFranco, Jimmy Giuffre, Pete Fountain, Bob Wilber and many others), is all but absent these days save for a handful of adamant diehards such as Paquito D'Rivera, Eddie Daniels, Don Byron and Ken Peplowski. That is one reason why it is always a pleasure to welcome a new voice into the choir, especially one as sharp and talented as ...

Album Review

Saul Dautch: Music for the People

Read "Music for the People" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
July 3, 2025

It is always a pleasure to hear a straight-ahead contemporary jazz quintet whose front line consists of baritone sax and trumpet, especially when it is as well-drawn as Florida-bred baritone Saul Dautch's debut recording, Music for the People, on which he shares melodic assignments with trumpeter Noah Halpern and, to a lesser extent, pianist Miki Yamanaka. Music for the People means what it says: stylish yet accessible small-group jazz aimed at reaching the widest possible audience. Seven ...

Album Review

Miki Yamanaka: Chance

by Pierre Giroux
November 6, 2024

Miki Yamanaka's release Chance reflects her depth as a pianist and an interpreter of material from the jazz playbook. Complementing her nuanced lyrical touch with sensitive interplay is her working rhythm section featuring bassist Tyrone Allen and drummer Jimmy Macbride. The album's mix of jazz standards and tunes from the Great American Songbook, alongside work from some legendary jazz masters, is a well-thought-out listening experience. This is all the more interesting as the session was recorded at the historic Van ...

Album Review

Miki Yamanaka: Shades of Rainbow

Read "Shades of Rainbow" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
October 12, 2023

Pianist Miki Yamanaka's working trio (Tyrone Allen, bass; Jimmy Macbride, drums) is very good. Add tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, as she does on Shades of Rainbow, and the results are even better. Besides playing nimble and expressive piano, Japanese-born, New York-based Yamanaka composed and arranged every song on Rainbow, her fifth album as leader. For those who may be inclined to peek inside her head, Yamanaka provides a brief rationale for each tune, from “That Ain't Betty" ...