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 m ...
pianist; she plays in the
post-bop
Post-bop is a genre of small-combo jazz that evolved in the early to mid 1960s in the United States. Pioneers of the genre, such as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane and Jackie McLean, crafted syntheses ...
genre.
Early career
After studying at
Berklee College of Music, Onishi moved to New York City, where she played with
Joe Henderson,
Betty Carter,
Kenny Garrett
Kenny Garrett (born October 9, 1960) is an American post-bop jazz musician and composer who gained recognition in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and for his time with Miles Davis's band. His primary instruments are alto and ...
, and
Mingus Dynasty
''Mingus Dynasty'' is a jazz album by Charles Mingus, recorded in 1959 and released on Columbia Records in May 1960. It is a companion album to his 1959 record, ''Mingus Ah Um'', and was inducted in the List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipie ...
. She has also worked with
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...
,
Holly Cole
Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio.
Background
Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a noted radio broadcaster ...
, and
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, ...
, among others, and recorded eight CDs for Blue Note (Somethin' Else in Japan) as a leader.
In May 1994, Junko Onishi played for a week at the Village Vanguard, with
Wynton Marsalis's sidemen, bassist
Reginald Veal, and drummer
Herlin Riley
Herlin Riley (born February 15, 1957) is an American jazz drummer and a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis.
A native of New Orleans, Riley started on the drums when he was three. He played trumpet through high ...
.
Although she lists
Duke Ellington,
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", ...
, and
Ornette Coleman as her primary influences, her playing is also reminiscent of
McCoy Tyner
Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...
and contemporaries such as
Kenny Kirkland
Kenneth David Kirkland (September 28, 1955 – November 12, 1998) was an American pianist and keyboardist.
Biography Early life
Born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, Kirkland was six when he first sat down at a piano keyboard. After years ...
and
Mulgrew Miller
Mulgrew Miller (August 13, 1955 – May 29, 2013) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. As a child he played in churches and was influenced on piano by Ramsey Lewis and then Oscar Peterson. Aspects of their styles remained i ...
.
Onishi appeared in the documentary ''Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz'' (1997), playing the song "Trinity" ("Quick") from her album ''Play, Piano, Play''.
Hiatus and later career
Onishi stopped performing in the late 1990s, having chosen to study and practice. When
Jaki Byard
John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...
, her mentor at that time, died in 1999, she stopped playing completely for two years: "I felt like I lost everything; I felt like I didn't have any more mentors".
[Murph, John (November 2010) "Junko Onishi: Time to Reflect]
JazzTimes.
/ref> She had to redevelop her technique when she decided to return, and started going to a gym to help her cope with the physical demands of playing.Verve
Verve may refer to:
Music
* The Verve, an English rock band
* ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve
* ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album)
* Verve Records, an American jazz record label
Businesses
* Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...
), with Onishi leading a much larger group, followed a year later.
Discography
Albums as leader
Other recordings
References
External links
Official label website - verve music group
*
JAZZDISCO.org Junko Onishi Catalog
*
*
*
*
Junko Onishi
- last.fm
1967 births
Living people
Japanese jazz pianists
Women jazz pianists
Japanese women pianists
Berklee College of Music alumni
Musicians from Kyoto Prefecture
21st-century pianists
21st-century Japanese women musicians
21st-century women pianists
{{Jazz-pianist-stub