Nov. 1: Acclaimed pianist/composer Yoko Miwa and her trio perform at Jazz on Main in Mt. Kisco

Acclaimed Japanese-born pianist Yoko Miwa brings her “splendid, irrepressible energy” (Jazzwise) and “remarkably upbeat and affirmative” music (DownBeat) to Jazz on Main, 37 South Moger Avenue, Mt. Kisco, NY on Saturday, November 1. Miwa performs with her trio featuring bassist Will Slater and drummer Scott Goulding. Performance at 7 p.m. Tickets $30, $98 for dinner and a show. Information at jazzonmain.com.

Miwa’s musicianship evokes the harmonic finesse and rhythmic brilliance of key influences like Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, McCoy Tyner and Oscar Peterson. Her expansive, versatile writing presents both a remarkable ear for melody and an earthy, intuitive feel for groove. As a bandleader, Miwa heads one of the finest jazz trios playing today. In his 4-star DownBeat review of Miwa’s 2019 release Keep Talkin’, Carlo Wolff noted “the blend of intimacy and power this unusually gifted trio can muster.”

Miwa and the band have earned broad critical acclaim for their most recent album Songs of Joy:
Named Rising Star Pianist, 2022, 2023, and 2024 DownBeat Critics Polls

Named a Best Jazz Album of the Year, DownBeat Readers Poll

“There’s no sound of strain on Songs of Joy, which kicks off with a roaring, Tyner-esque version of Richie Havens’ ‘Freedom’…Remarkably, Miwa emerged from those first months of the pandemic with a new recording…which, given the circumstances is remarkably upbeat and affirmative, living up to the album’s title.” – Jon Garelick, DownBeat

“A radiant new collection of covers and songs filled with hope.” – Jazziz

“Lashing out against the pandemic and other personal setbacks, she unleashes her piano fury here with an energy and passion that simply can’t be denied. Hard hitting stuff to wake up even the most somnambulant, Miwa consciously decides to remove any limitations and put the gusto front and center. Hot stuff.” – Richard B. Kamins, StepTempest

“This album is yet another triumph from one of America’s finest jazz pianists, composers, and bandleaders.” – Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist

“Captivating exuberance… brilliant album…a life affirming work in a time of darkness and sorrow. As an accomplished artist Miwa and her like-minded colleagues are well suited for this task. In its own way Songs of Joy is a suitable balm for these terrible times.” – Hrayr Attarian, Chicago Jazz Magazine

“Bill Evans she isn’t, but Yoko Miwa conjures some of that same two-hand-chording majesty, sustain, and a sense of slowly stirring stars. She’ll let rip with left-hand runs neat as you please, but she always finds comfort, and quiet galaxies, by letting her hands talk to each other in adroit voices. And as in Evans’ best trios, everyone dissolves into everyone else… One of the finest albums of this fledgling year.” – Andrew Hamlin, JazzTimes

“Miwa approaches [Richie Havens’] ‘Freedom’ with a McCoy-Tyner like muscularity, backed by the dense rhythmic backdrop from bassist Will Slater and drummer Scott Goulding. It is a powerhouse, all-things-possible sound, spiritual and temporal at the same time.” – Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

“A product of Kobe, Japan by way of the Berklee College of Music, pianist Yoko Miwa has lately been earning robust acclaim – in her native Japan, in her adopted hometown of Boston, and increasingly beyond those spheres…Songs of Joy…will only help things along.” – Nate Chinen, WBGO

“Miwa’s polystylistic vision is too restless to remain in one place for too long — her jazz firmament is constantly shifting, in perpetual joyous transformation.” ­–Steve Feeney, The Arts Fuse

“This 11-cut disc certainly delivers on its titular promise…there’s a splendid, irrepressible energy about these tracks.” – Robert Shore, Jazzwise

“She plays with great force and conviction and power…she really wallops the living daylights out of that piano.” – Julian Joseph, J to Z on BBC Radio 3

“Miwa has created an album of tunes that lets each song speak for itself, bringing their emotive content to the forefront of the listener’s consciousness. Songs Of Joy is truly an album of joy. Listeners will appreciate what they are hearing as well as what they are feeling as this nearly 71 minutes of music graces their stereo speakers.” – Bill Copeland Music News

“Songs of Joy is an enthralling body of work…a welcome reprieve from the challenges that we have all recently faced, with inspiration and hope for what is to come.” – Jazz in Europe

“I can't imagine hearing many better examples of jazz piano at its best.” – Lance Liddle, Bebop Spoken Here

“The Yoko Miwa Trio provides a feeling that’s much more complex than an earnest attempt at cheering us all up. It’s a reminder that we need to stay connected–not just through music, but through the unspoken relationship between performers and their audience. Oh, and that Zep cover? One of the best things I’ve heard in months.” – Marc Phillips, Part Time Audiophile

ABOUT YOKO MIWA
Internationally acclaimed pianist/composer Yoko Miwa is one of the most powerful and compelling performers on the scene today. Her trio, with its remarkable telepathy and infectious energy, has brought audiences to their feet worldwide. Their 2021 release Songs of Joy received wide acclaim and reached #1 on national jazz radio charts. Jazziz called it “a radiant new collection.” Her 2019 CD, Keep Talkin’, showcases Miwa’s fine playing and artful compositions and the trio’s uncanny musical camaraderie. DownBeat gave the recording four stars, calling it “a beautifully constructed album” and noting “the drive and lyricism of a pianist and composer at home in bebop, gospel, pop, and classical.” For more than a decade Miwa’s trio has played regularly at major jazz clubs in their home city of Boston, as well as venues around the world. A favorite of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Miwa was chosen to play on “Marian McPartland & Friends,” part of the Coca-Cola Generations in Jazz Festival. Miwa also appears regularly at New York’s famed Blue Note Jazz Club as well as Birdland and has performed and/or recorded with a wide range of jazz greats including Sheila Jordan, Slide Hampton, Arturo Sandoval, George Garzone, Jazzmeia Horn, Jon Faddis, Jerry Bergonzi, esperanza spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kevin Mahogany, John Lockwood and Johnathan Blake, among others.