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is a Japanese jazz composer/arranger, bandleader and pianist. She has received 14 Grammy nominations, and she was the first woman to win the Best Arranger and Composer awards in ''Down Beat'' magazine's Readers Poll. In 1984, she was the subject of a documentary film titled ''Jazz Is My Native Language''. In 1996, she published her autobiography, ''Life with Jazz'' and in 2007 she was named an NEA Jazz Master by the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.〔 ==Biography== Akiyoshi was born in Liaoyang, Manchuria to Japanese emigrants. She was the youngest of four sisters. In 1945, after World War II, Akiyoshi's family lost its home and returned to Japan, settling in Beppu. A local record collector introduced Akiyoshi to jazz by playing a record of Teddy Wilson playing "Sweet Lorraine". Akiyoshi immediately loved the sound, and began to study jazz. In 1952, during a tour of Japan, pianist Oscar Peterson discovered Akiyoshi playing in a club on the Ginza. Peterson was impressed, and convinced record producer Norman Granz to record Akiyoshi.〔 In 1953, under Granz's direction, Akiyoshi recorded her first album with Peterson's rhythm section: Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on double bass, and J. C. Heard on drums. The album was released as ''Toshiko's Piano'' in the U.S. and as ''Amazing Toshiko Akiyoshi'' in Japan.〔(Ken Dryden review at Allmusic.com )〕 Akiyoshi studied jazz in Boston at the Berklee School of Music.〔 In 1955, Akiyoshi wrote a letter to Lawrence Berk asking him to give her a chance to study at his school. After a year of wrangling with the State Department and Japanese officials, Berk secured permission for Akiyoshi to enroll. He offered her a full scholarship, and he mailed her a plane ticket to Boston. In January 1956, Akiyoshi enrolled to become the first Japanese student at Berklee. Akiyoshi married saxophonist Charlie Mariano in 1959. The couple had a daughter, Michiru, now a musician who performs as Monday Michiru, in 1963, but divorced in 1967 after forming several bands together. That same year, she met saxophonist Lew Tabackin, whom she married in 1969. Akiyoshi, Tabackin and Michiru moved to Los Angeles in 1972. In March 1973, Akiyoshi and Tabackin formed a 16-piece big band composed of studio musicians.〔 Akiyoshi composed and arranged music for the band, and Tabackin served as the band's featured soloist, on tenor saxophone and flute. The band recorded its first album, ''Kogun'', in 1974. The title, which translates to "one-man army", was inspired by the tale of a Japanese soldier lost for 30 years in the jungle, who believed that World war II was still being fought and thus remained loyal to the Emperor. ''Kogun'' was commercially successful in Japan, and the band began to receive critical acclaim.〔 The couple moved to New York City in 1982, where they promptly assembled a new big band (now called the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin).〔 Akiyoshi toured with smaller bands to raise money for her big band. BMG continued to release her big band's recordings in Japan, but remained skeptical about releasing the music in the United States — since the 1950s, big band music has rarely achieved commercial success in the US. While Akiyoshi was able to release several albums in the US featuring her piano in solo and small combo settings, many of her later big band albums were released only in Japan and were available elsewhere only as imports. On Monday, 29 December 2003, her band played its final concert at Birdland in New York City, where it had enjoyed a regular Monday night gig for more than seven years.〔 Akiyoshi explained that she disbanded the ensemble because she was frustrated by her inability to obtain US recording contracts for the big band. She also said that she wanted to concentrate on her piano playing, from which she had been distracted by years of composing and arranging. She has said that although she has rarely recorded as a solo pianist, that is her preferred format. On 24 March 2004, Warner Japan released the final recording of Akiyoshi's big band. Titled ''Last Live in Blue Note Tokyo'', the CD was recorded on 28–29 November 2003. Akiyoshi lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side with her husband. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Toshiko Akiyoshi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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