Miku Yonezawa

Miku Yonezawa was born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, where she began playing the tenor saxophone at the age of eight and joined a big band by the age of eleven, marking the start of her jazz career.

She made her recording debut in 2016 with the album Amusement. Her third album, released on May 4, 2018, reached No. 1 on Amazon Japan’s jazz chart, holding the top position for 28 consecutive days. It also topped the iTunes Store jazz rankings. In January 2019, she released Dawning Blue, a jazz ballad album that set a new record by remaining at the top of the Amazon Japan jazz chart for 96 days.

In May 2019, she made her major-label debut with Exotic Gravity on King Records. Both Dawning Blue and Exotic Gravity received the Album of the Year award in the New Star category at the 2019 JAZZ JAPAN AWARD. In April 2021, she performed at Tokyo’s prestigious Cotton Club, followed by participation in the Billboard Tour in July as a member of “OneYoung World Presents THE JAZZ AVENGERS,” led by drummer Chisato Kawaguchi.

In 2022, she held her first hall concert and appeared on the cover of Sax World magazine. Her live performance was also broadcast on NHK General TV’s Hirumae Hotto. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, she managed to give 95 live performances across Japan that year.

April 2023 saw the release of her eighth solo album, delight, and her eleventh album overall, including recordings with her ensemble, ProjectM. In May, she released the debut album of The Jazz Avengers, successfully completing national tours both as a solo artist and with the group. Her albums have gained international acclaim, ranking on jazz charts in 37 countries, including No. 1 in Macau, No. 3 in Greece, No. 4 in Finland, and No. 5 in France as of January 2024.

As a bandleader, she has collaborated with many of Japan’s top musicians, including Makoto Aoyagi, Hiroshi Okamoto, Jiro Okada, Koichi Noh, Ken Hatae, Chisato Kawaguchi, and Hiroyuki Noritake. Her wide-ranging activities also include participating in the solo project tour of Takuro from Glay and recording with Shizuka Kudo.

She currently serves as a Tourism Ambassador for Asahikawa and is a Certified Artist for D’Addario Woodwinds Japan

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