Performances + Events
NEC Jazz Orchestra + Ken Schaphorst: The Music of Toshiko Akiyoshi
Jordan Hall
Free
In-Person Event
Open to the Public
Streaming
The NEC Jazz Orchestra celebrates the 95th birthday of groundbreaking pianist, composer and bandleader Toshiko Akiyoshi with a performance of her music on Thursday, December 5 in Jordan Hall starting at 7:30 p.m. The concert will feature many of her most celebrated compositions including After Mr. Teng, American Ballad, Long Yellow Road, Roadtime Shuffle, Soliloquy, and Tuning Up.
During her long career, award-winning artist Akiyoshi has made essential contributions to big band jazz. Together with her husband, saxophonist/flutist Lew Tabackin, she led the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra between 1982 and 2003, receiving 14 Grammy nominations, and was named an NEA Jazz Master by the National Endowment of the Arts.
She began playing piano at age six, and her first job as a musician was performing in a dance-hall band in Japan. She was discovered by pianist Oscar Peterson in 1952, which led to her attendance a few years later at Berklee College of Music. She moved to Los Angeles in 1972 with Tabackin, and there they formed the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra. Accolades quickly ensued, including winning the DownBeat Critics’ Poll in 1976, and earning best jazz album of the year for Long Yellow Road by Stereo Review. In her music, Akiyoshi mixed Japanese themes with jazz. When she moved to New York in 1982, she re-formed her band with local musicians, enjoying an acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut in 1983. Akiyoshi has recorded more than 20 albums with her orchestra. She is also the first woman to win the Best Arranger and Composer category in DownBeat Magazine’s Readers’ Poll.
The live stream of this event is available to NEC Community members only. To watch the stream, please click the “Streaming Access” button at the top of the page and enter the NEC Community streaming password on the video window labeled “NEC-Produced Stream” when prompted.
During her long career, award-winning artist Akiyoshi has made essential contributions to big band jazz. Together with her husband, saxophonist/flutist Lew Tabackin, she led the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra between 1982 and 2003, receiving 14 Grammy nominations, and was named an NEA Jazz Master by the National Endowment of the Arts.
She began playing piano at age six, and her first job as a musician was performing in a dance-hall band in Japan. She was discovered by pianist Oscar Peterson in 1952, which led to her attendance a few years later at Berklee College of Music. She moved to Los Angeles in 1972 with Tabackin, and there they formed the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra. Accolades quickly ensued, including winning the DownBeat Critics’ Poll in 1976, and earning best jazz album of the year for Long Yellow Road by Stereo Review. In her music, Akiyoshi mixed Japanese themes with jazz. When she moved to New York in 1982, she re-formed her band with local musicians, enjoying an acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut in 1983. Akiyoshi has recorded more than 20 albums with her orchestra. She is also the first woman to win the Best Arranger and Composer category in DownBeat Magazine’s Readers’ Poll.
The live stream of this event is available to NEC Community members only. To watch the stream, please click the “Streaming Access” button at the top of the page and enter the NEC Community streaming password on the video window labeled “NEC-Produced Stream” when prompted.
