Pianist, vocalist, and songwriter Akiko Yano went from living a superstar life in her native Japan in the 1970s and ’80s to being an internationally in-demand collaborator after moving to New York City in 1990.
In the late 1970s, she began recording and touring with Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), a Japanese techno-pop supergroup that included her future husband, the late composer and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto. Bands like YMO and Happy End were sometimes dubbed the “Japanese Beatles,” making Yano the equivalent of keyboardist and Beatles collaborator Billy Preston in this analogy.
Successfully transitioning from national celebrity to international artist, she has since worked with the likes of British synth-pop singer-songwriter Thomas Dolby, Japanese composer and pianist Yuji Takahashi, and Celtic supergroup The Chieftains. Yano’s 1989 album Welcome Back featured guitarist Pat Metheny, bassist Charlie Haden, drummer Peter Erskine, and trumpeter Wallace Roney, among others.
Showcasing her high vocal range (which gives her an energetic and youthful sound) and deft way with the piano, Yano’s songs and compositions are alternately whimsical and profound. She performs a rare pair of West Coast shows this month, on Oct. 10 at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall and on Oct. 12 at the Aratani Theatre in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo neighborhood.
Yano spoke with SF Classical Voice in a Zoom call from Japan, where she was preparing to perform with her jazz trio. The 69-year-old discussed having her over two dozen albums recently become available on streaming services, adjusting her artistic approach over the years, and performing unaccompanied versus with brilliant collaborators. This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.
It’s been a while since you’ve played on the West Coast. What can audiences in San Francisco and Los Angeles expect from your concerts?
It’s solo piano and vocals. San Francisco and L.A., I haven’t been there in a long time. So I might have to cover all of the eras [in my set list] — some old songs, and I’m going to add some new things. I’ll just focus on my own songs. If I spread out, that would be probably get too vast.
It’s a lot of fun to revisit my past. But basically, I haven’t changed. Piano and vocals, that’s the basis of my music. I can do most anything in this form, whatever it is. Like electronic music, the songs back when I played with YMO — I can rearrange those into piano and vocals. It’s going to be fun to play and sing those transformations.
I live in New York City, and I usually tour three times a year in Japan. Los Angeles and San Francisco, I haven’t been there [to perform] for more than 10 years, so I’m excited to be back.
A lot of musicians will move overseas for a quieter, or at least different, life. How has the U.S. been for you?
In New York City, I’m just a nobody. And it’s this really ideal environment to make good music because if you want to have some great bass player or guitarist, all you have to do is just make a call.
And I don’t have to deal with the media. I can just be myself and concentrate on making music. I feel so grateful about that.
It used to be that your listeners would have to pay between $25 and $40 for your records and CDs, usually as imports. How has it been becoming a streaming artist?
That’s the thing that I was longing to do, and finally I am in the 21st century. I already see new audience members coming to my music, so it’s been a great source [for that].
And the French label Wewantsounds recently did nice rereleases on vinyl and CD of your first six albums. Were you involved in that?
I’m heavily involved. I feel so grateful that they found me and my old recordings, though it doesn’t sound old to me. I always wanted a way to spread my, I would say, achievements — especially to new audience. I’m so happy to see my works in all those forms.
I was listening to a program on a local public radio station where a journalist was talking about the changes in Joni Mitchell’s voice as she matured from a young to an experienced artist. Have you noticed similar changes in yours?
That’s the thing — aging, it’s unavoidable. And sometimes it’s really cruel. What you had, you might lose. Still, we are living beings. We have to sing and play in this state we’re in.
Sometimes I wish I could keep some standard that I had when I was young. But you have to compromise and acknowledge the situation that you are in right now, like the really high notes you can’t hit anymore. When you listen to Joni Mitchell, it’s very different from when she was young. But we really appreciate that Joni still sings.
But my voice hasn’t changed significantly. I can still sing in the same keys since I started in the ’70s.
These West Coast shows will be solo, of course. But you just performed and recorded with the brilliant 45-year-old pianist Hiromi, who helped SFJAZZ open its season last month. It’s interesting that you collaborated with age peers for much of your career but are now playing intergenerationally.
[Hiromi and I] started to play together almost 20 years ago, and we are maturing, of course. Back then we were individuals. I had my own things, and she had her things. And sometimes it was really exciting to see those two musical figures crashed or blasted together.
We are not in that era anymore, so we mostly collaborate now. It’s still not easy to do. I need to have more practice playing with her. But it’s still very exciting and musical. It’s also meaningful as we get older.
You were only 21 when you released your first album, Japanese Girl, yet you already sounded like a fully formed artist then. What had you studied at that point?
I started playing piano when I was 3 years old. It was classical training until I was 12 or 13. Then, I changed course to not just classical and more jazz-ish. I didn’t have any teachers or any mentors learning jazz, so it was kind of self-taught. I was always listening to the records of John Coltrane and Bill Evans. They are my teachers.
And half of that first album featured beloved blues rockers Little Feat. Getting them was quite an accomplishment. How did that come about?
You know, jazz was my passion, and it still is. But at the same time, I listened to American rock and pop music. As I began to play and gig, I had more musical friends and colleagues in Tokyo. And Little Feat was one of our heroes. I really loved that band.
And when people wanted me to make a record, what became my first record eventually, I asked if there was any opportunity if I could play with Little Feat. I was really fortunate to be in that musical circle where that could happen. They were all top players.
Because it’s been so long since you last played on the West Coast, I know your fans here are excited to have you back. Is there anything you’re particularly excited about when you return to California?
I really want to see the audience, old and new, again. To see people who come to my shows in person is a privilege.
