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Miki Hayama

Miki Hayama is a GRAMMY Nominated piano/keyboard player, arranger and musical director, born in Kyoto, Japan, lives in NYC.

She graduated from Osaka College of Music where majored in classical piano, and studied jazz piano with renowned jazz pianist Sadayasu Fujii in Kyoto. After graduated from College, she started to work at many Jazz clubs in Kansai area. Her ambition to pursue Jazz didn't stop her but made her move to New York. Since 2003, Ms. Hayama has been busy making quite a respected name for herself on New York's jazz scene. She has toured and shared the stage with many greats —Kenny Garrett, Ralph Peterson, Sean Jones, Tia Fuller, Michael Dease, Vincent Herring, Bruce Williams, Roy Hargrove, JD Allen, Greg Osby, Cindy Blackman-Santana, Nnenna Freelon, Jazzmeia Horn, Christian McBride, Eric Harland, Gary Thomas, and even the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin to name a few. Her own 2006 sophomore release "Prelude to a Kiss" received a five-star rating in Swing Journal. Her 3rd studio album "Wide Angle" got Swing Journal's Gold Disc Award in March 2009, Best Production Award in January, 2010. She plays on many recordings as a side person includes on Tia Fuller's "Pillar of Strength" and "Healing Space", Sharel Casity's "Evolve", Mimi Jones's "A New Day" and "Balance", Michael Dease Big Band's "Relentless", Nnenna Freelon's "Christmas". She worked as a musical director as well as an arranger and keyboardists on Nnenna Freelon's new studio album " Time Traveler " which was released on May 21, 2021, and won the Grammy nomination.

"Miki Hayama is an amazing young pianist with great chops, a great harmonic concept and a great imagination ! " piano master Kenny Barron recently observed. She also plays Hammond organ with Gospel Choir at the Cathedral United Baptist Church in Bronx.

Awards

First prize winner at Yokohama Jazz Promenade Competition, Senzoku Gakuen Award, Swing Journal Gold Disc Award, Swing Journal Best Production Award. Grammy nominated for piano / keyboard, arranger and musical director for the Best Jazz Vocal Album " Time Traveler" By Nnenna Freelon


Tags

25
Album Review

Don Braden: Earth Wind and Wonder, Vol. 2

Read "Earth Wind and Wonder, Vol. 2" reviewed by Jack Bowers


As on the first recording of this two-volume series, acclaimed tenor saxophonist Don Braden pays tribute to a couple of his coming-of-age idols, singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder and the genre-defying group Earth, Wind and Fire. Braden has chosen four of Wonder's compositions and three associated with EW&F to accompany a pair of his splendid original themes. Braden plays tenor saxophone most of the way, flute and alto flute, respectively on Wonder's “Bird of Beauty" and “Creepin.'" Needless to ...

3
Album Review

Sheryl Bailey: Homage

Read "Homage" reviewed by Jim Josselyn


Homage, Sheryl Bailey's 12th outing as a leader, is a welcome and well deserved musical love letter to the late, great Pat Martino. The opening track, with one of the great song titles in instrumental music history, “The Velvet Hammer," was written for Martino, and the decision to have keyboardist Miki Hayama play the Fender Rhodes throughout harkens back to one of Martino's masterpieces with Gil Goldstein, We'll Be Together Again (Muse, 1976). But make no mistake, Bailey ...

9
Album Review

Tim Mayer: Keeper of the Flame

Read "Keeper of the Flame" reviewed by Jack Bowers


On Keeper of the Flame, Tim Mayer, a Bostonian who now calls Mexico home, leads a sharp, swinging group of like-minded amigos on a (mostly) octet studio date enriched by Diego Rivera's colorful arrangements. Mayer plays tenor sax on half a dozen tracks, soprano sax on “Bye Bye Blackbird" and “Get Organized," alto flute on “Elusive." Mayer's tenor spans a bridge from early John Coltrane to George Coleman, Joe Henderson, Bob Mintzer and other post-bop patriarchs with a dash of ...

192
Album Review

Miki Hayama: Wide Angle

Read "Wide Angle" reviewed by Lyn Horton


Miki Hayama establishes an identifiable cadence in her piano language in Wide Angle. Her trio behaves as one organism; Hayama offers the fearless heartbeat. Hayama composed eight of the ten pieces on the recording. The rigorous tempos, even when moderate, bond the three instruments. The precision with which Hayama addresses the piano demonstrates her fascination with the minutest detail. Her strength lies in the quality of her treble arpeggiation ("What's Next") through which progressions she plants bass ...

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4

Event

Love Letter From Japan: Keys To The East comes To Klavierhaus In June

Love Letter From Japan: Keys To The East comes To Klavierhaus In June

Source: Charles Carlini Presents

Jazz enthusiasts will be treated to a month-long series of Japanese Jazz Piano entitled, “Love Letter From Japan,” at Klavierhaus, New York City's premier fine piano showroom at 790 11th Avenue at 54th Street, New York, NY 10019. Produced by Jim Luce and Charles Carlini, the series features the very finest Japanese pianists in New York City on Wednesdays in June. The performers include Miki Hayama on June 7, Yayoi Ikawa on June 14, Toru Dodo with special guest Alicia ...

"Crispy articulate" —-New York Times "Star Rise in New York Jazz Scene"—-Jazz Gallery “Miki Hayama, this young lady, born in Kyoto, Japan, swings as if she's Harlem grown. Colorful and creative, her style is both aggressive and sensitive....” —-Dr. Victor Lewis "Miki Hayama is an amazing young pianist with great chops, a great harmonic concept and a great imagination ! " piano master Kenny Barron

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Earth Wind and...

Self Produced
2024

buy

Homage

PureMusic Records
2023

buy

Queen Rising

The Kersten Stevens Experience, LLC
2023

buy

Time Traveler

Origin Records
2021

buy

Keeper of the Flame

D Clef Records
2021

buy

Adonis Rose Piece Of...

Storyville Records
2020

buy

Time Traveler

From: Time Traveler
By Miki Hayama

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