Aki Takase

Aki Takase (高瀬 アキ) (born January 26, 1948 in Osaka) is a critically acclaimed, award-winning Japanese jazz pianist and composer.

Biography
Raised in Tokyo, she studied music at Tohogakuen Music University. Starting in 1978, she performed and recorded in the USA with Lester Bowie, David Liebman, John Zorn and others. Since 1981, she performed repeatedly at the Berlin Jazz Festival in Germany.

For many years, she has been working with her husband Alexander von Schlippenbach, Eugene Chadbourne, Han Bennink, Evan Parker, Paul Lovens, Fred Frith and others, and in duets with Maria João, David Murray and Rudi Mahall.

In various projects, Takase has dealt with famous jazz musicians: Ellington (1990), Monk (1994), Dolphy (1998), W.C. Handy (2002), Fats Waller (2004), O. Coleman (2006).

Since 1987, she has been living in Berlin.

Discography

 * 1981: Minerva's Owl
 * 1982: A.B.C.
 * 1982: Perdido
 * 1988: Looking for Love (with Maria João)
 * 1990: Shima Shoka
 * 1992: Close Up of Japan 
 * 1993: Clapping Music
 * 1995: Play Ballads of Duke Ellington
 * 1995: Piano Duets: Live in Berlin, 1993-1994
 * 1997: Oriental Express
 * 1997: Duet for Eric Dolphy
 * 2001: Le Cahier du Bal
 * 2002 News From Berlin
 * 2002 Nine Fragments: Dempa
 * 2003 The Dessert
 * 2004 St. Louis Blues
 * 2005 Lok 03
 * 2006 Tarantella
 * 2006 Spring in Bangkok [live]
 * 2007 Ornette Coleman Anthology (with Silke Eberhard)
 * 2007 Ich hebe meine Augen in die Welt (with Michael Griener)
 * 2008 Live at Willisau Jazz Festival (Aki and The Good Boys)
 * 2009 Evergreen (with Rudi Mahall)
 * 2009 Yokohama (with Louis Sclavis)
 * 2009 Rolled Up (with Jan Roder and Oliver Steidle)
 * 2010 A Week Went By
 * 2011 Kanon ( with Kazuhisa Ushihashi and Axel Doerner)
 * 2011 ''Two for Two (with Han Bennink)
 * 2012 ''New Blues" (with Eugene Chadbourne, Rudi Mahall, Nils Wogram, Paul Lovens, guest Alex von Schlippenbach)

Awards

 * The German Record Critics' Award 2001 and 2004 In total she received the awards seven times.
 * Jazz Award of the German public broadcasting company SWR 2002