The Jazz Gallery Presetns: Miki Yamanaka Quartet

Photo by Martina DaSilva, design by John Sellards.

If you’re a New York jazz club-hopper, pianist Miki Yamanaka is someone you could run into every week. In just the past few weeks, she’s played with saxophonist Roxy Coss in Midtown, bassist Harish Raghavan in the West Village, and saxophonist Antonio Hart with the Jazzmobile at Grant’s Tomb. This demand a sign that Yamanaka is adept at collaborating with a wide range of musicians.

However, Yamanaka also keenly understands the benefits of long-running musical relationships. Since moving to New York in 2012, two of Yamanaka’s closest partners have been bassist Tyrone Allen and drummer (now husband) Jimmy Macbride. When Yamanaka was planning the follow-up to her 2021 album Stairway to the Stars, she decided to build it around that core trio, along with a front line special guest, Mark Turner. The quartet workshopped a set of Yamanaka’s music on tour in the Pacific Northwest earlier this year, then headed right into the studio. The result is Shades of Rainbow (Cellar Music Group), releasing on September 8.

The full quartet will convene this week at The Jazz Gallery for a prerelease celebration. The sense of reunion and the lived-in nature of the music is sure to yield inventive stretching from all players.

The Miki Yamanaka Quartet plays The Jazz Gallery on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. The group features Ms. Yamanaka on piano, Mark Turner on saxophone, Tyrone Allen on bass, and Jimmy Macbride on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. E.D.T. $20 general admission ($15 for members, FREE for SummerPass holders), $30 reserved cabaret seating ($20 for members), $20 livestream access ($5 for members, FREE for SummerPass holders). Purchase tickets here.