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Ai Kuwabara

Ai Kuwabara Born on September 21st, 1991. Graduated from the Music Department at Senzoku Gakuen High School as a jazz piano major in 2010. Studied piano under Yuki Arimasa, Yoko Yamashita, and Kazune Zaima. Has been active since her early years, winning many awards such as gold medals at the All-Japan Yamaha Electone Contest, for both the lower elementary division and the upper elementary division. Performed in many concerts such as the UNICEF Charity Concert, and International Junior Original Concert. Featured in AERA magazine as a "Genius Electone Girl." Worked as Electone player for Kei Ogura’s musical Kids Algo in 2004 and 2005. From the latter half of junior high school, switched to playing the piano. Planned, produced, and composed music for her very first show in April 2010, all by herself, gaining favorable reviews. Currently performing all over Japan in shows spanning a range of genres, such as her collaboration with Mr. Masahiko Kitahara, trombone player for Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. Worked in Germany from May to August 2011 as the pianist for the German production of The Young Americans Dinner-Theater Europe. Toured Japan as pianist for the Oizumi One-Man Show in October and November 2011. Took part in the first official CD for the fashion brand Mastermind Japan, as well as in Def Tech’s Greatest Hits album. Her first album “From Here to There” debuted on EWE Records in October 2012, and her second album “The Sixth Sense” was released in April 2013. http://3shimai.com/ai/

Awards

Gold medals at the All-Japan Yamaha Electone Contest, for both the lower elementary division and the upper elementary division.


Tags

Performance / Tour

Jazz From Japan: Ai Kuwabara's Four-City Tour

Jazz From Japan: Ai Kuwabara's Four-City Tour

Source: Japan Foundation Los Angeles

Fresh and modern Japanese jazz group ai kuwabara trio project will perform a series of concerts in November, sponsored by NPO Japan Foundation, Los Angeles. The band’s music is urban contemporary jazz with a strong, experimental feel and a flavor of funk. The band shows a regard for a wide-range of musical styles, featuring elements of progressive rock, classical, and even pop. They are led by 22-year-old jazz pianist Ai Kuwabara with Yusuke Morita on bass guitar and Shintaro Imamura ...

"I don’t feel that I’m consciously playing jazz as such. Without wanting to be disrespectful to the tradition of the genre, that’s not really what I’m aiming for, but that’s just how my music gets categorized."

“Some fans have told me that they usually only listen to rock, but they’re really into what I’m doing. I guess there’s a rock, even progressive-rock, feel to some of my tracks, but when it comes to improvisation the band and I often slip back into a bebop mode."

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