The Jazz Gallery Presents: Miki Yamanaka's Origami

Photo by Alex Joseph, courtesy of the artist.

A native of Kobe, Japan, pianist Miki Yamanaka came to New York in 2012 to get her master’s degree from Queens College. Over the past decade, she has become both an in-demand collaborator with the likes of Antonio Hart and Roxy Coss, and assertive leader, releasing 4 albums under her own name, including 2021’s Stairway to the Stars.

While she can usually be found slinging hard-swinging material at Smalls or livestreaming from the Harlem apartment she shares with husband-drummer Jimmy Macbride, this week at The Jazz Gallery, Yamanaka presents music with a new septet, Origami. While the band features a mix of strong and varied improvisers, Yamanaka says that the music has “lots of free components that rely on each member of the band's musical decisions.”

Miki Yamanaka’s Origami plays The Jazz Gallery on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. The group features Ms. Yamanaka on piano, Vickie Yang on keyboard/conductor, Nicole Glover on tenor sax/bass clarinet, Caroline Davis on alto sax, Mike Rodriguez on trumpet, Harish Raghavan on bass, and Jimmy Macbride on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. E.D.T. $20 general admission (FREE for members), $30 reserved cabaret seating ($20 for members), $20 livestream access (FREE for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.