Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Ayako Shirasaki was born on September 16, 1969 in Tokyo, Japan and started classical piano lessons at age five, and was intrigued by her father’s professional trombone-playing. By age twelve she began her professional career playing gigs at the “J” jazz club in Tokyo.

After attending the Tokyo Metropolitan High School for Arts, Shirasaki majored in classical music at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and gave concerts as a classical pianist for several years after graduating before returning to play jazz.

Her 1997 move to New York City saw her pursuing a master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with pianist Kenny Barron. Landing in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, Ayako operates the Brooklyn location of the Sakura Music School, which specializes in teaching music to small children with an emphasis on those of Japanese ancestry.

Performing regularly in the New York area, she tours internationally, in addition to recording. Her debut trio album Existence brought drummer Lewis Nash and bassist Marco Panascia together in 2003. She has since recorded four addition albums, has been featured on Marian McPartland’s National Public Radio show Piano Jazz, and was a finalist in the Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Piano Competition in 2005 and 2006 and the Great American Jazz Piano Competition in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Pianist and educator Ayako Shirasaki continues to perform, tour, record, and teach.

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