In Japan, it is said that if children begin music lessons on June 6 following their fifth birthday, they will keep studying for a long time. Pianist Keiko Matsui was taken to her first piano lesson on that very day when she was five and she hasn’t looked back since.
Keiko Matsui is an icon of contemporary jazz. With over 1.2 million units sold in the U.S. alone and packed concert halls, she is one of the most recognized artists in the genre. Her elegant piano melodies and gentle jazz grooves have enormous appeal and never disappoint her loyal fanbase which she has cultivated with over a dozen albums and stunning live shows.
WALLS OF AKENDORA, Matsui’s latest recording of all new material, showcases her signature sophisticated jazz style on ten tunes that range from the classically-inspired to bold and brassy. “Akendora,” she explains, “is a fictional place of my own device! It is a place that I go to to find peace and to spend contemplative moments.” The ‘walls’ of the title do not refer to any barriers around this haven, but rather milestones. “It’s like marking your child’s height on the wall. It’s about seeing where you have been and where you can go,” she explains.
Matsui has taken her music to extraordinary places since that fateful day of her first piano lesson. By the time she was in junior high school, she began composing and developing a taste for jazz, drawing inspiration from a variety of classical and contemporary composers ranging from Chopin, Mozart, and Rachmaninov to Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, and Stevie Wonder. At the age of 17, Matsui was chosen to record for the Foundation, and that same year, she composed her first film score.
Matsui commenced her solo recording career with 1987’s A DROP OF WATER. The album established Matsui as a talent of note. Her subsequent albums, including (UNDER NORTHERN LIGHTS 1989), NO BORDERS (1990), NIGHT WALTZ (1991), CHERRY BLOSSOM (1992), DOLL (1994), SAPPHIRE (1995), and DREAM WALK (1996) further cemented her reputation and increased her popularity. No stranger to the upper reaches of the contemporary jazz album and airplay charts, Matsui was named Top Indie Contemporary Jazz Artist Of The Year by Billboard magazine in 1996.
1998 saw the release of Matsui’s album FULL MOON AND THE SHRINE, which 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 album DEEP BLUE was recognized by the top Contemporary Jazz Chart of Billboard magazine at consecutive two weeks in August of 2001.
In August 2001, Keiko’s album DEEP BLUE, spent two weeks at the top of the Contemporary Jazz Chart of Billboard Magazine.
2001 brought about a period of reflection for Matsui and a strong desire to create music that would help heal a world in turmoil. She began to contemplate, “Why am I creating music, and as a musician, what can we do?” Matsui also reflected on the futures of children growing up in a world devastated by violence and hatred. The result was THE RING — an album intended to communicate a message of peace, compassion, and humanity to listeners around the world. Her technical and compositional virtuosity that has become her hallmark, along with the symphonic grandeur of her sound, paired beautifully in this stirring and emotional album.
On 2004’s WILDFLOWER, Matsui once again used music as a platform for inspiring good. The album’s title track benefits the United Nations World Food Programme’s efforts in Africa. WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency which, in 2002, fed 72 million people in 82 countries including most of the world’s refugees and internally displaced people. “I decided I wanted to support the WFP after learning about the tremendous problems in Africa and how humanitarian assistance can change people’s lives for the better,” Matsui said. “So much help is needed there, particularly for the children who have been orphaned or abandoned because of war and AIDS.”
HI FRIENDS, I'VE MADE IT ON THE RADIO! MY NEW DEBUT SINGLE "I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO" IS JUST ADDED TO JAMMIN' 99.5 FM, A 100,000 WATT RADIO STATION THAT BROADCASTS IN BAKERSFIELD, CA, PORTLAND, OR AND TEXAS. MY SONG JUST STARTED PLAYING MONDAY AND IS ALREADY #3 (FROM 21) ON THE NEW SONG PLAYLIST AND RISING! I HAVE JUST DONE AN ON PHONE INTERVIEW WITH THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR BILLY DEE. HE TOLD ME THAT MY SONG HAS HUGE VOTES! GO TO http://www. jammin995radio. com/music. html AND SCROOL DOWN AND SEE MY PHOTOGRAPH AND THEN SCROOL DOWN THE SONGLIST (SECOND SONGLIST) AND SEE MY SONG! HOPEFULLY I HAVE A HIT...I WAS TOLD BY BILLY DEE THAT IT IS!
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME,
LES EDWINS
PS: YOU CAN ALSO VOTE FOR MY SONG! THANKS IN ADVANCE!
Hello Keiko! Thanks for the frienship! It's a pleasure having you on my page. I like very much the kind of music you do! Let's keep in touch! jmhjazztrio Paris
We have finally launched our new web site and would love to have you guys check us out and let us know what you think. Make sure to register for our free monthly drawing. Thanks for all of your support. www. greenonlydistributors. com Kim & Gina
I enjoyed all your performances. I sat thru 4 performances across 4 days. You provided me much writing material.
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Long time no hear. Hope all is well for you. Here is a little something for you...
xxxxxxxxx Spirit of "Never Again"
Unto those pacing the Heavens, they salute you.
Those who remain ... pray for the brave journey have chosing to do.
For the others who survived the attrocities, we recall a famous pledge ... "Never Again" quoted by leadership regarding a similar darksided societial cleansing over a 1/2 century ago.
When the innocent are damned to die, we citizens of kindness and good can "Never Again" say "so".
acommon1 man's journey Rob Johnson Boa Pessoa June 22, 2008
We have finally launched our new web site and would love to have you guys check us out and let us know what you think. Make sure to register for our free monthly drawing. Thanks for all of your support.
Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul...it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.
