Miki Yamanaka Trio

Japanese-born pianist Miki Yamanaka brings her contemporary jazz to Birdland Theater, an intimate club in Manhattan's Theater District. A New York resident since 2012, Yamanaka has built a reputation for a light, expressive touch and a solidly crafted mainstream approach, delighting audiences with both her playing and her vibrant stage personality. Her most recent album, Shades of Rainbow, features saxophonist Mark Turner alongside her New York rhythm section.

Beyond her own dates, Yamanaka is a familiar presence on the New York scene through residencies at the West Village clubs Smalls and Mezzrow, and she has worked as a sideman with alto saxophonist Antonio Hart as well as in the Harish Raghavan Quintet and the Mingus Bigband. She also plays organ and gained a following during the pandemic with her weekly live-streamed series, Miki's Mood, which highlighted her deep knowledge of jazz standards and themes from the Great American Songbook.