Toshiko Akiyoshi was born in China into an upper-class family, where her father worked in the textile industry before starting his own business. She began piano lessons in her youth after being captivated by the sound of the instrument.

“I’d like to play just like that,” she recalled. “So I asked my parents if I could take lessons, because we had a piano. That’s how it started. I really loved the instrument… When I play it, I feel very happy.”

After World War II, the family returned to Japan, settling in Beppu. Toshiko later reflected that while the postwar years were extremely difficult for her parents, she was fortunate to have been young enough not to fully grasp the hardship.

Growing up in a privileged environment, she had been exposed to Western music early on. Her first encounter with jazz came through a friend of her brother, Takeshi “Tak” Shimizu—a jazz enthusiast and record collector. The turning point came when she heard Teddy Wilson’s recording of Sweet Lorraine. She was instantly hooked.

In the postwar years, Tokyo’s nightlife flourished, fueled by the presence of American GIs. Toshiko found steady work performing in the city’s many nightclubs. She later recalled that there was such a demand for musicians that playing the piano was not only artistically fulfilling but also a reliable way to earn a living.

One night in 1953, while performing at a club, she caught the ear of jazz great Oscar Peterson, who was in Japan touring with Jazz at the Philharmonic. Impressed by her talent, Peterson urged Norman Granz—the tour organizer and founder of Verve Records—to record her. The result was Toshiko’s Piano, released in November 1953, with Peterson’s own sidemen—Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, and J.C. Heard—backing her. The album was both a critical and commercial success, making Toshiko the first Japanese jazz musician to record for a major American label.

Despite her success, Toshiko felt she was “a big fish in a small pond” and longed to challenge herself in the United States. At the time, the only practical way to secure a visa was to obtain a student visa, so she applied to Berklee College of Music, sending her LP along with a recommendation from Norman Granz. She was accepted with a full scholarship and moved to the U.S. in 1956.

While studying at Berklee, she met saxophonist Charlie Mariano, a faculty member. The two married in 1959, divorced in 1965, and had one daughter—Monday Michiru, who would go on to become an accomplished jazz artist herself.

Looking back, Toshiko described the period from 1956 to the early 1970s as a time of “musical hibernation”—not in the sense of inactivity, but of soaking up experiences, ideas, and influences. Though she faced challenges as both a woman and an Asian in the male-dominated jazz world, she remembered those years fondly, filled with learning and exploration.

In 1967, Toshiko met saxophonist and flutist Lew Tabackin while subbing in Clark Terry’s band. They married in 1969, and in 1972 moved to Los Angeles so Lew could join The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The stability and industry connections that came with his job allowed the couple to form the Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band in 1973.

The Toshiko Akiyoshi Lew Tabackin Big Band 1981, photo by Brian McMillen

For the next three decades, the two performed together—Lew as the featured soloist, Toshiko as bandleader, arranger, and composer. While her piano recordings were released in the United States, most of the big band’s albums were issued in Japan, as American labels doubted their commercial viability.

Toshiko’s music is firmly rooted in bebop, yet her compositions frequently incorporate Japanese elements—unique melodic structures, rhythmic patterns, and thematic storytelling drawn from Japanese culture.

The big band gave its final performance at Birdland on December 29, 2003. Toshiko, frustrated by the challenges of releasing her big band work in the U.S., decided to focus more on her piano playing. Since then, she has continued to perform internationally, albeit less frequently, while refining her craft.

Toshiko Akiyoshi is far more than a virtuoso pianist—she is a visionary composer and arranger whose career has spanned continents and decades. Breaking into the New York jazz scene in the 1950s as a young Japanese woman was a trailblazing feat, and though many have wondered how much more recognition she might have received had she been a man, Toshiko herself has always expressed gratitude for her extraordinary journey.

Listening to her speak, it’s clear she remains devoted above all else to the music itself. And thanks to her rich body of recordings and compositions, the world is all the better for it.