Join Yukiko Matsuyama and special guests Hirotaka Ogawa and Takeshi Hayama for a very special show at the Domyoji Temple in Osaka.

It’s been another busy and exciting year! Although I haven’t had much time to post lately I’d like to share highlights about some wonderful concerts and events.

On  March 12th at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, CA I was honored and thrilled to perform with legendary bass player, composer, and bandleader Alphonso Johnson. For anyone who doesn’t already know, he’s recorded with Weather Report, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Bob Weir & Michael Jackson to name just a few… He’s also an incredibly kind, humble and caring person.

In an era when musicians are often only able to get together for a quick rehearsals before a gig, this one was unique; we rehearsed with Alphonso in small groups for nearly 6 months. During that time a variety of tunes and arrangements were explored. The end result was a concert that touched on many of the era’s of Alphonso’s storied career.

I was extremely honored when Alphonso asked me to do an arrangement of Sakura which we performed as a duet; electric bass and koto. The musicians that played in the band were without exception phenomenal! It was such a thrill to perform with them and I hope we can do it again.

I was hired by the Energic Corporation to perform for their annual worldwide conference in Las Vegas on July 28th. For the event I invited my brother, Hirotaka Ogawa to perform with me. Hirotaka flew out from Japan and we had a wonderful time! His arrangement of First Trial, from our Beyond the Space CD, included internationally recognized, award winning, shamisen player Mike Penny. I’ll post a video soon!

Currently I’m working on several exciting performances including Genji with music composed by Koji Nakano and Seeds, a multifaceted Japanese cultural performance. We’ll perform Genjiat Scripps College in Claremont on Oct 29th. Seeds will be performed at the Armstrong Theater in Torrance on January 14th, 2017. Check back here and on my Facebook page for more information about both!

Best regards,

Yukiko

I love being busy with music and this year has been just that. From concerts with many wonderful friends to film score recording sessions and composing new music it’s been a really fun year! But what I really want to share with you is a very exciting upcoming project…

Next March I’m very excited to be performing with jazz bass legend Alphonso Johnson and his incredible band. And when I say incredible, I’m not exaggerating. We’ve begun rehearsals and the musicians are all amazing! I feel honored to be part of this project and hope to see many of you there.

Check back next month and I’ll post some more details.

Until then, I wish each of you and a wonderful holiday season 🙂

Arigatou,

Yukiko

We had a wonderful time in Alaska, Tokyo and Osaka. New photos posted in the Photo section.

Hope you can join us for an evening of Pop & World Music at a the Kick Back Cafe, a very cool club in Tokyo. Click to see the poster.

We’ve been invited to play a very special performance in Alaska on July 11th. Hirotaka will fly from Japan to California where Diana & I will meet up with him and we’ll all fly to Alaska. We’re really looking forward to this one!

Here’s a poster for the event:

Tickets on sale Friday, May 23rd.

Friday, October 18, 2013 8:00pm

James R. Armstrong Theatre
3330 Civic Center Dr.
Torrance, CA 90503
(Torrance Blvd. & Madrona Ave)
Box Office 310-781-7171

Featuring: Hiro Hayashida, (formerly with Kodo, Taiko drum master and composer from Japan) with very special guests:

Alphonso Johnson, internationally acclaimed bassist & composer
Karen Briggs, violin
Yukiko Matsuyama, koto
Diana Dentino, keys
Fredo Ortiz – percussion
and the Taiko Center of Los Angeles

Tickets $30
Senior/Students $25
Group 10+ $20

For more information and to order tickets, please visit www.Taikocenter.com

Here’s the set list from our show last night:

1st SET

What is Zat?- Yukiko Matsuyama

Falling in & Out – Yukiko Matsuyama

Talk with Dolphins – Yukiko Matsuyama

Use Me – Bill Withers

New Direction – Yukiko Matsuyama

If I Were There – Yukiko Matsuyama

2nd SET

All I Wanna Do – Phil Collen

Closer to Me – Phil Collen

Muddy Water Blues – Paul Rogers

Iketeru – Yukiko Matsuyama

Nami – Yukiko Matsuyama

Koto Grease – Vince van Trigt

Kaze Ni Kike – Katsuhiko Yoshizaki

Kaze Matsuri – Yukiko Matsuyama

Encores

Sukiyaki – Hachidai Nakamura

Pour Some Sugar On Me – Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliot, “Mutt” Lange, Rick Savage

We’ll post more info about the musicians and current projects they’re working on shortly.

Please use the contact page to be added to our mailing list for upcoming events.