Keiko Matsui: Contemporary Jazz Pianist at George's August 17, 2012

One of the most recognized names in contemporary jazz, pianist Keiko Matsui has sold over 1.2 million albums in America alone, and headlines shows around the world. Her new album "The Road…" fuses classical, new age, jazz, R&B and ambient music, and incorporates both Eastern and Western influences. See her in concert at George's.

Keiko Matsuii is a Japanese producer, comtemporary Jazz Pianist and composer whose career spans three decades, during which time she has released twenty CDs (in addition to various compilations) and has received international acclaim.

A true icon of contemporary jazz with over 20 albums to her credit since the release of A Drop of Water in 1986, the versatile performer has sold over 1.2 million units in the U.S. alone and packs concert halls around the world. Her subsequent albums, including Under Northern Lights, No Borders, Night Waltz, Cherry Blossom, Doll, Sapphire and Dream Walk further cemented her reputation as an innovator of a style fusing elements of classical, new age, jazz, R&B and ambient music.

A fixture in the upper reaches of the contemporary jazz album and airplay charts, Matsui — whose influences range from Chopin, Mozart and Rachmaninov to Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett and Stevie Wonder — was named Top Indie Contemporary Jazz Artist Of The Year by Billboard magazine in 1996.

In 1998, her release Full Moon and the Shrine was accompanied by an acclaimed PBS-TV special entitled Keiko Matsui: Light Above The Trees. The special reflected the multicultural nature of Matsui’s life and music and was filmed, in part, at Japan’s breathtakingly beautiful 1,300-year-old Itsukushima Shrine and during a high-energy concert in San Francisco. The special earned Matsui a National Smooth Jazz Award for Best Long-Form Video Achievement in 2000. She was also honored as the Best Female Artist that year and again in 2001.

Her releases in the 2000s have been driven by music designed to help heal a world in turmoil, including Deep Blue, The Ring, Wildflower (whose title track benefited the U.N. World Food Program’s efforts in Africa), Walls of Akendora and her most recent, Moyo (2007).

Matsui's music is powerful and introspective, blending both Western and Eastern musical influences. She has a very spiritual view of composing music, feeling out each composition as though it were, in her words, “coming to me from another space, another dimension,” and “catching notes from the silence and then simply placing them together.”

Keiko's 22nd US album "The Road..." by Shanachie Entertainment has received raging reviews and will be featured on this show.

"Keiko Matsui’s tremendous talent is mesmerizing for all who have the opportunity to see the superstar perform live." Katrina K Wheeler - The SF Examiner

"Matsui is quietly determined to pay no mind to whatever the prevailing trend is, and beats her own path wherever it takes her, instead of following the leader." Jeff Winbush - AllAboutJazz.com

http://www.keikomatsui.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FQxabmBEqek