Akiko Yano

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Akiko Yano

| image =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1955|2|13}}

| birth_place = Tokyo, Japan

| origin =

| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|piano|synthesizer|keyboards}}

| genre = {{hlist|Disco|electronic|funk|pop|jazz|new wave|pop rock|synth-pop|soul}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|musician|composer}}

| years_active = 1970s–present

}}

{{nihongo|Akiko Yano|矢野顕子|Yano Akiko|born {{nihongo|Akiko Suzuki|鈴木顕子|Suzuki Akiko}}; February 13, 1955}} is a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer born in Tokyo and raised in Aomori and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s. She has been called "one of the major musical talents of the Japanese popular music world", and her vocals and singing style have been compared to English singer Kate Bush (who she predates by several years).{{cite journal|title=Akiko Yano|journal=Option|year=1988|volume=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ytLAAAAYAAJ|access-date=July 4, 2011|page=118}}{{cite web |last=Taylor |first=Ronald |title=Akiko Yano reflects on how music has changed after 40 years in the business |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2016/05/15/music/akiko-yano-reflects-music-changed-40-years-business/ |website=Japan Times |date=May 15, 2016 |access-date=March 21, 2020}}

She has recorded with Yellow Magic Orchestra and its members Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, as well as with Swing Out Sister, Pat Metheny, The Chieftains, Lyle Mays, members of Little Feat, David Sylvian, Mick Karn, Kenji Omura, Gil Goldstein, Toninho Horta, Mino Cinelu, Jeff Bova, Charlie Haden, Peter Erskine, Anthony Jackson, David Rhodes, Bill Frisell, Thomas Dolby, the band Quruli, Rei Harakami as Yanokami and her daughter Miu Sakamoto.

Biography

=Early life=

Akiko Yano was born Akiko Suzuki in Tokyo in 1955. She grew up in Aomori, Japan,{{cite web |last=Cahoon |first=Keith |title=Akiko Yano Profile |url=http://nippop.com/artist/artist_id-25/artist_name-akiko_yano/ |website=Nippop |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213023038/http://nippop.com/artist/artist_id-25/artist_name-akiko_yano/ |archive-date=February 13, 2009 |url-status=dead}} and learned to play the piano when she was three. She dropped out of high school and moved to Tokyo at the age of fifteen to become a professional musician, quickly became involved in the jazz scene, and by seventeen was working as a studio recording artist for hire.{{cite periodical |last=Bowler |first=Paul |title=UNDER THE, RADAR: Artists, bands and labels meriting more attention |magazine=Record Collector |issue=495 |date=August 2019 |page=142 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A596576161/ITOF?u=philly_free&sid=ITOF&xid=2e0f42ae |via=Gale General OneFile |access-date=March 24, 2020 }}{{cite web |last=Nakatsu |first=Asako |title=１０代、ジャズミュージシャンをひたすら目指して矢野顕子（前編） |url=https://www.asahi.com/and_w/20161124/23147/ |website=The Asahi Shimbun |date=November 24, 2016 |language=ja |trans-title=Akiko Yano: Aiming to be a jazz musician in her teens (Part 1) |access-date=April 6, 2020}} She also performed with the band Tin Pan Alley.{{cite book |last=Anderson |first=Mark |chapter=Yano Akiko |title=The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture |year=2009 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=575 |editor-last=Buckley |editor-first=Sandra |isbn=978-0415481526 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wtkm3O3nWXkC&q=akiko |via=GoogleBooks |access-date=April 6, 2020}}

=Solo career=

Yano's debut album, Japanese Girl, was released on July 25, 1976, was a major hit in Japan, and gave Yano overnight success.{{cite web |last=Hayes |first=Bryon |title=Akiko Yano Japanese Girl |url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/akiko_yano-japanese_girl |website=Exclaim! |date=February 28, 2019 |access-date=March 21, 2020}} The album was recorded in Los Angeles with Little Feat, and of the album's ten tracks, she wrote nine of them.{{cite web |title=Akiko Yano's 1976 debut Japanese Girl gets first international release |url=https://thevinylfactory.com/news/akiko-yano-japanese-girl-debut-album-vinyl/ |website=Vinyl Factory |date=January 23, 2019 |access-date=March 21, 2020}} The album has been praised for its unique blend of different musical styles such as jazz, pop, blues, and traditional Japanese folk music, and "still sounds fresh today", according to Paul Bowler of Record Collector magazine.{{cite periodical |last=Bowler |first=Paul |title=Akiko Yano: Japanese Girl |magazine=Record Collector |issue=492 |date=May 2019 |page=106 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A586239293/ITOF?u=philly_free&sid=ITOF&xid=cd799736 |via=Gale General OneFile |access-date=March 24, 2020}} The success led to her self-producing the second album, Iroha Ni Konpeitou, which was released in 1977. It was recorded primarily in Japan, and features Yano improvising on a variety of instruments, backed up by prominent musicians such as Rick Marotta and Haruomi Hosono.{{cite web |last=Milner |first=Roz |title=Akiko Yano: Iroha Ni Konpeitou |url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/akiko_yano-iroha_ni_konpeitou |website=Exclaim |date=May 30, 2019 |access-date=March 24, 2020}} Around this time, Yano started collaborating with Yellow Magic Orchestra and joined them on two world tours. They also played as the backing band for her 1980 album Gohan Ga Dekitayo, which translates to "Dinner's Ready", and marked a shift in her musical style towards electro-pop.{{cite periodical |last=Bowler |first=Paul |title=Akiko Yano: Gohan Ga Dekitayo |magazine=Record Collector |issue=502 |date=February 2020 |page=110 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A614351007/ITOF?u=philly_free&sid=ITOF&xid=482550c0 |via=Gale General OneFile |access-date=March 24, 2020}} The album was also one of the earliest CDs ever released in 1982.{{Discogs release|1813867|Akiko Yano – ごはんができたよ}}

1981's Tadaima ("I'm Home") has become one of the most beloved of Yano's discography, and also one of her personal favorites. The record company asked for an album that would be a commercial success, so Yano gave them what they wanted on side one, but took side two in a different avant-garde direction, composed around nine short stories that were written by children. The album once again featured the Yellow Magic Orchestra, as well as a cartoonish heta-uma cover designed by Teruhiko Yumura,{{cite web |last=McDermott |first=Matt |title=Akiko Yano's 1981 album Tadaima, co-produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto, to be reissued |url=https://www.residentadvisor.net/news/42386 |website=Resident Advisor |date=August 27, 2018 |access-date=March 24, 2020}} but was only released in Japan.{{cite periodical |last=Bowler |first=Paul |title=Akiko Yano: Tadaima |magazine=Record Collector |issue=487 |date=December 15, 2018 |page=113+ |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A567547503/ITOF?u=philly_free&sid=ITOF&xid=1f056065 |via=Gale General OneFile |access-date=March 24, 2020}} The album's single "Harusaki Kobeni" was released before the album was recorded, and reached the top 40 chart after being used in cosmetics commercials.{{cite web |last=Nakatsu |first=Asako |title=デビュー４０周年、築いた"大きな山"をアルバムに矢野顕子（後編） |url=https://www.asahi.com/and_w/20161128/23153/ |website=The Asahi Shimbun |date=November 28, 2016 |language=ja |trans-title=On the 40th anniversary of her debut, Akiko Yano releases the album “Big Mountain” (Part 2) |access-date=April 6, 2020}}{{cite web |last=Caffiaux |first=Vincent |title=Interview: Akiko Yano ou les premices de la synth-pop |url=https://starwaxmag.com/akiko-yano-itw/ |website=Star Wax Mag |date=October 21, 2018 |language=fr |trans-title=Interview: Akiko Yano or The Beginnings of Synth-pop |access-date=April 6, 2020}}

Yano was introduced to British band, Japan, by Ryuichi Sakamoto of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and in 1982 they met at the AIR Studios in London to record an album, Ai Ga Nakucha Ne ("There Must Be Love").{{cite periodical |last=Bowler |first=Paul |title=FROM JAPAN TO JAPAN |magazine=Record Collector |issue=499 |date=December 2019 |page=32 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A609856556/ITOF?u=philly_free&sid=ITOF&xid=6e03436e |via=Gale General OneFile |access-date=March 24, 2020}} The record company, Japan Record, released the album as a set with a book of photography and at a lower price, as requested by Yano.{{cite periodical |last=Fujita |first=Shig |title=Japan Label Plans LP-Book Tie |magazine=Billboard |date=June 26, 1982 |page=69 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22akiko+yano%22&pg=PT82 |via=GoogleBooks |access-date=April 6, 2020}} After her 1984 album Oh Hisse, Oh Hisse, Yano took a one-year break from recording music to raise her children, and decided to refocus her career on jazz, which led to the 1989 album Welcome Back featuring Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden and Peter Erskine. She relocated to New York City in 1990.

=Other projects=

Yano's credits extend beyond her album projects. She was showcased by Japanese animation film company Studio Ghibli, which is known for works such as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Yano composed the music for the film My Neighbors the Yamadas{{cite web |title=Review: My Neighbors the Yamadas |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/my-neighbors-the-yamadas |website=Anime News Network |access-date=20 December 2020}} (as well as performing a minor role as Fujihara-sensei) and created and performed the sound effects using only her voice for two short films Yadosagashi{{cite web |title=House-hunting (2006) Yadosagashi (original title) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756260/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt |website=IMDb |publisher=IMDb.com |access-date=20 December 2020}} and Mizugumo Monmon{{cite web |title=Monmon the Water Spider (2006) Mizugumo Monmon (original title) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0768132/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 |website=IMDb |publisher=IMDb.com|access-date=20 December 2020}} by animation director Hayao Miyazaki. Both films were shown at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo. More recently in 2008, Yano performed as a voiceover actress on Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea as Ponyo's sisters.{{cite web |title=Ponyo (2008) Full Cast & Crew |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0876563/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm |website=IMDb |publisher=IMDb.com |access-date=20 December 2020}} In addition, Yano composed music for Toei's animated feature, Atashin'chi{{cite web |title=アニメあたしンち映画 |url=https://www.shin-ei-animation.jp/2016/atashinchi/cinema/index.html |website=Shin-Ei Animation |access-date=20 December 2020}} and piano-based soundtrack for the film Tagatameni.{{cite web |title=Portrait of the Wind (2005) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465635/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm |website=IMDb |publisher=IMDb.com |access-date=20 December 2020}}

As an international artist, Yano has toured Europe extensively, performing at The Montreux Jazz Festival, Café de la Danse, and Cité de la Musique in Paris. In 2002, she also performed a week of special concerts at Pizza Express in London. In the United States, Yano has performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and New York City where she periodically plays concerts throughout the year at Joe's Pub at the New York Public Theater. In July 2009, she performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival along with fellow pianist Hiromi Uehara.{{cite web |title=Hiromi & Akiko Yano |url=https://www.northseajazz.com/en/program/2009/sunday-12-july/12376-hiromi-akiko-yano/ |website=North Sea Jazz |access-date=5 September 2023}}

In recent years she has appeared at the Blue Note in New York as a guest performer for Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer, and as part of a trio with Anthony Jackson on bass and Cliff Almond on drums in concerts at the Blue Note Tokyo since 2003. In 2008, New York guitarist Marc Ribot joined Yano for sold-out shows at the Blue Note Tokyo.

Yano joined with Rei Harakami to create the duo Yanokami, and in 2007 they released their first studio album Yanokami.{{cite web|url=https://natalie.mu/music/news/2934|title=[矢野顕子] yanokami最新アルバム全曲フル配信|website=Natalie|language=ja|date=3 August 2007|access-date=4 February 2020}} In 2009, Will Lee and Chris Parker joined her to form the Akiko Yano Trio.{{cite web |last1=Harada |title=Live Reports: Akiko Yano Trio |url=http://www.bluenote.co.jp/jp/reports/2009/08/20/akiko-yano-trio.html |website=Blue Note Tokyo |publisher=Blue Note Japan|access-date=20 December 2020}}

Discography

;Solo studio albums

Japanese Girl (1976)
Iroha ni Konpeitō (1977)
To Ki Me Ki (1978)
Gohan ga Dekitayo (1980)
Tadaima. (1981)
Ai ga Nakuchane. (1982)
OSOS (1984)
Tōge No Wagaya (1986)
Brooch (1986)
Granola (1987)
Welcome Back (1989)
Love Life (1991)
Super Folk Song (1992)
Love Is Here (1993)
Elephant Hotel (1994)
Piano Nightly (1996)
Oui Oui (1997)
Go Girl (1999)
Home Girl Journey (2000)
Reverb (2002)
Honto No Kimochi (2004)
Akiko (2008)
Ongakudo (2010)
Yano Akiko, Imawano Kiyoshirō o Utau (2013)
Tobashite Ikuyo (2014)
Welcome to Jupiter (2015)
Soft Landing (2017)
Futaribocchi de Ikou (2018)
Asteroid and Butterfly (2020)
Music Is a Gift (2021)

Personal life

Yano married and soon after divorced Makoto Yano, the producer of her first recording. In 1975, her son Fuuta Yano was born. She later married fellow musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, with whom she had a daughter, Miu Sakamoto. The young couple can be seen playing a duet on the piano at home in the 1985 documentary Tokyo Melody.{{cite web |last1=Dahl |first1=Nel |title=Tokyo Melody: An Interview with Elizabeth Lennard |url=https://ultradogme.com/2023/07/28/tokyo-melody/ |website=Ultra Dogme |access-date=2 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802182342/https://ultradogme.com/2023/07/28/tokyo-melody/ |archive-date=2 August 2023 |date=28 July 2023 |quote=First, its playful editing style mirrors Sakamoto’s creative energy and curiosity, and shifts between the whimsical and the poignant (as with his piano duet with Akiko Yano at home). |url-status=live}} Yano separated from him in 1992, and they divorced in August 2006.{{cite web|url=http://news.e-entertainment.info/singer/sakamoto_ryuuichi/post_9.html|work=e-entertainment.info|title=坂本龍一、矢野顕子が仮面夫婦の関係に終止符|date=November 29, 2006|access-date=June 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721195818/http://news.e-entertainment.info/singer/sakamoto_ryuuichi/post_9.html|archive-date=July 21, 2011|url-status=dead}} [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://news.e-entertainment.info/singer/sakamoto_ryuuichi/post_9.html Translation]) Yano is Christian.{{Cite web|url=http://www.japanculture-nyc.com/2012/01/21/the-global-salon-sparks-dialogue-about-japan-in-post-march-11-times/|title=The Global Salon Sparks Dialogue about Japan in Post-March 11 Times|last=Miyagi Hamaker|first=Susan|date=2012-01-21|website=Japan Culture NYC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224040628/http://www.japanculture-nyc.com/2012/01/21/the-global-salon-sparks-dialogue-about-japan-in-post-march-11-times/|archive-date=2017-02-24|access-date=2017-02-23}}

References

External links

[http://www.akikoyano.com Akiko Yano Homepage]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20050508101246/http://nippop.com/artist/artist_id-25/artist_name-akiko_yano/ Nippop Profile of Akiko Yano]
[http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/akikoyano/ Akiko Yano on Sony Music]
[https://twitter.com/Yano_Akiko Akiko Yano on Twitter]

Category:1955 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Aomori (city)

Category:Japanese jazz musicians

Category:Japanese jazz singers

Category:Japanese women jazz singers

Category:Japanese keyboardists

Category:Japanese women keyboardists

Category:Japanese pianists

Category:Japanese women pianists

Category:Anime composers

Category:Japanese people of Russian descent