Yoko Miwa Trio Comes to Jimmy's in Portsmouth in January

Acclaimed Japanese-born pianist Yoko Miwa will perform on Sunday, January 28 at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club, 135 Congress St., Portsmouth, NH. Joining Miwa will be bassist Brad Barrett and drummer Scott Goulding. The performance is at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $7.50-$35. For information visit jimmysoncongress.com/event/yoko-miwa-trio

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.”

The trio’s most recent release is 2021’s acclaimed Songs of Joy (February 12, 2021 on Ubuntu Music). It features Miwa’s longstanding trio with bassist Will Slater and drummer Scott Goulding, along with a guest appearance by bassist Brad Barrett. The album combines songs that have provided solace and inspiration to Miwa with five original pieces composed as a means of escape from the lockdown routine

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.