(born January 26, 1948) is a Japanese

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist and composer.

Biography

Takase was born in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and started to play piano at age 3. Raised in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, she studied classical piano at

Toho Gakuen School of Music is a private music school in Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. History Toho Gakuen was founded in 1948 in Ichigaya (Tokyo) as the Music School for Children, and two years later moved to Sengawa (current address at Wakabacyo, Chofushi, Tokyo) and opened t ...

.Ankeny, Jaso
"Artist Biography".
AllMusic. Retrieved September 18, 2013. Starting in 1978, Takase began performing and recording in the US. Her collaborators have included

Lester Bowie Lester Bowie (October 11, 1941 – November 8, 1999) was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Biography Born in t ...

, Sheila Jordan,

David Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a N ...

, and

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

. Her first European appearance was in 1981 at the

Berlin Jazz Festival JazzFest Berlin (also known as the Berlin Jazz Festival) is a jazz festival in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" (''Berlin Jazz Days''), it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. Venues included B ...

in Germany. Through her constant touring and appearances at international jazz festivals, Takase quickly became one of the most sought-after musicians for recording and collaboration. For many years, she has worked with her husband

Alexander von Schlippenbach Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...

(also a pianist), as well as with

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

Paul Lovens Paul Lovens (born 6 June 1949) is a German musician. He plays drums, percussion, singing saw, and cymbals. He has performed with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra and Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. He was born in Aachen, Germany. In the early ...

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

and many others, and in duets with Maria João,

Louis Sclavis Louis Sclavis (born 2 February 1953) is a French jazz musician. He performs on clarinet, bass clarinet, and soprano saxophone in a variety of contexts, including avant-garde jazz, free jazz, free improvisation and contemporary classical. Life ...

, David Murray and

Rudi Mahall Rudi Mahall (born December 23, 1966) is a contemporary jazz bass clarinetist. While studying classical clarinet, Mahall shifted towards contemporary music, improvisation and jazz. He is, or was a member of following bands: Avantgardeband ''Die ...

. In various projects, Takase has dealt with the respective oeuvres of numerous famous jazz musicians, including the works of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

(1990),

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

(1994),

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...

(1998),

W.C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...

(2002),

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

(2004), and

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

(2006). Given her training and adventurous spirit, Takase's new projects exist as a genre between contemporary music and jazz. These include her duo project YOKOHAMA (Intakt 2009) with Louis Sclavis, KANON (doubtmusic 2011) with Kazuhisa Uchihashi and Axel Dörner or Hotel Zauberberg with Ayumi Paul in 2014 (Intakt Records). „LA PLANETE“ w/ Louis Sclavis, Vincent Courtois, Dominique Pifarely. “ LOK.03 “ w/ Alex v. Schlippenbach and DJIIIVibe. „TAMA“ w/ Jan Roder, Oliver Steidle.“ „Reading and Music“ performance w/ Yoko Tawada. „Cities in the Piano„:dance +piano w / Yui Kawaguchi.„Carmen Rhapsody“ with Mayumi Nakamura. With her new quintett JAPANIC (26. April 2019/ BMC) Aki Takase brings together HipHop, Jazz and Improvisation. “ AUGE“ w/ Christian Weber and Michael Griener. Since 1988, Takase has lived in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Discography

An asterisk (*) after the year indicates that it is the year of release.

As leader/co-leader

As sidewoman

Sources:

Awards

* The German Record Critics' Award 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2009, CD "Cherry-Sakura" with David Murray 2017/2. In total she received the awards 9 times (1988–2017). * Berliner Zeitung Award (the best Artists of 1999 in the Berlin Newspaper) * The SWR Jazz Award 2002. * Jazzpreis Berlin, 2018Aki Takase: Berliner Jazzpreis
/ref> * German Jazz Preis for Piano/Keyboard Award 2021. * Albert Mangelsdorff Prize 2021

References

External links

Official site
(in German, English and Japanese)

Representation {{DEFAULTSORT:Takase, Aki 1948 births Enja Records artists Japanese expatriates in Germany Japanese women composers Japanese jazz composers Japanese jazz musicians Japanese jazz pianists Japanese women pianists Living people Women jazz pianists 21st-century pianists 21st-century Japanese women musicians Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra members Leo Records artists FMP/Free Music Production artists Intakt Records artists NoBusiness Records artists 21st-century women pianists Bellaphon Records artists