The NEC Jazz Orchestra to Perform Music of Toshiko Akiyoshi

The NEC Jazz Orchestra will celebrate 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.” Admission is free. 

During her log 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.
 
About New England Conservatory (NEC)
Founded by Eben Tourjée in Boston, Massachusetts in 1867, New England Conservatory (NEC) represents a new model of music school that combines the best of European tradition with American innovation. The school stands at the center of Boston’s rich cultural history and musical life, presenting concerts at the renowned Jordan Hall. Propelled by profound artistry, bold creativity, and deep compassion, NEC seeks to amplify musicians’ impact on advancing our shared humanity and empowers students to meet today’s changing world head-on, equipped with the tools and confidence to forge multidimensional lives of artistic depth and relevance.

As an independent, not-for-profit institution that educates and trains musicians of all ages from around the world, NEC is recognized internationally as a leader among music schools. It cultivates a diverse, dynamic community, providing music students of more than 40 countries with performance opportunities and high-caliber training from 225 internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. NEC pushes the boundaries of music-making and teaching through college-level training in classical, jazz and contemporary improvisation. Through unique interdisciplinary programs such as Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Performances & Partnerships, it empowers students to create their own musical opportunities. As part of NEC’s mission to make lifelong music education available to everyone, the Expanded Education division delivers training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, and adults.