Born in Fukuoka, Japan, pianist Mamiko Watanabe started with the piano at age four and began exploring composition at age 7. In 1999, she received a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music where she received several awards for Jazz composition and piano. She was a semi-finalist at the Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition in 2002 and 2003, and in 2003 she received the DownBeat Student Award in the Jazz Soloist Category. After moving to New York, she could often be found performing at venues like the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Jazz at the Kitano and more. Mamiko has toured Europe and Japan and has performed with jazz greats such as Joe Lovano, Kevin Mahogany, and Bobby McFerrin, while releasing five albums as a leader. This performance features the same band that is on her newest release, Being Guided by the Light–a superlative trio featuring bassist Santi Debriano and NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart on drums.

This event will stream on the Jazz Foundation and Jazz Museum Facebook pages and the Museum YouTube Channel.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by the Howard Gilman Foundation.

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