Toshiko's Piano
Encyclopedia
The jazz
album
Toshiko's Piano (released as Amazing Toshiko Akiyoshi in Japan) was the debut recording of jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi
. It was recorded in Japan in 1953 with Oscar Peterson
's Jazz at the Philharmonic
rhythm section and released as a 10 inch LP album
on Norman Granz
's Norgran Record label. Later 12 inch LP and (Japanese) CD re-issues also include all 4 Akiyoshi tracks from 1957's Verve Records
recording, Toshiko and Leon Sash at Newport
. Cover artwork is by David Stone Martin
.
Additional four bonus tracks on later re-issues only (from 1957 live recording, Toshiko...at Newport
):
Tracks 9~12
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Toshiko's Piano (released as Amazing Toshiko Akiyoshi in Japan) was the debut recording of jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi
Toshiko Akiyoshi
is a Japanese American jazz pianist, composer/arranger and bandleader. Among a very few successful female instrumentalists of her generation in jazz, she is also recognized as a major figure in jazz composition. She has received 14 Grammy nominations, and she was the first woman to win the Best...
. It was recorded in Japan in 1953 with Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
's Jazz at the Philharmonic
Jazz at the Philharmonic
Jazz at the Philharmonic, or JATP, was the title of a series of jazz concerts, tours and recordings produced by Norman Granz....
rhythm section and released as a 10 inch LP album
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
on Norman Granz
Norman Granz
Norman Granz was an American jazz music impresario and producer.Granz was a fundamental figure in American jazz, especially from about 1947 to 1960...
's Norgran Record label. Later 12 inch LP and (Japanese) CD re-issues also include all 4 Akiyoshi tracks from 1957's Verve Records
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
recording, Toshiko and Leon Sash at Newport
Toshiko and Leon Sash at Newport
The live album Toshiko and Leon Sash at Newport was recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957 and released on the Verve record label. All 4 Toshiko Akiyoshi tracks are also included on some later re-issues of the Norgran recording Toshiko's Piano / Amazing Toshiko Akiyoshi.-Track...
. Cover artwork is by David Stone Martin
David Stone Martin
David Stone Martin , born David Livingstone Martin, was an influential American artist best known for his illustrations on jazz record albums....
.
Track listing
- "What Is This Thing Called Love?What Is This Thing Called Love?"What Is This Thing Called Love?"is a 1929 popular song written by Cole Porter, for the musical Wake Up and Dream. It was first performed by Elsie Carlisle in March 1929. The song has become a popular jazz standard and one of Porter's most often played compositions.Wake Up and Dream ran for 263...
" (PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
) – 2:45 - "Gone with the WindGone with the Wind (song)"Gone with the Wind" is a popular song. The music was written by Allie Wrubel, the lyrics by Herb Magidson. The song was published in 1937. A version recorded by Horace Heidt was a #1 song in 1937.Diane E...
" (WrubelAllie WrubelAllie Wrubel was an American composer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in Middletown, Connecticut, Wrubel attended Wesleyan University and Columbia University before working in dance bands. He began his musical career in Greenwich Village, New York where he roomed with his close friend James Cagney...
, MagidsonHerb MagidsonHerbert A. "Herb" Magidson was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway reviews. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934....
) – 2:33 - "I Want to Be HappyI Want to Be Happy"I Want to Be Happy" is a song with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar for the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette.-Musical:The song is used several times throughout the musical, as a running theme of No, No, Nanette is the attempts of various people to please others.It is first sung by...
" (YoumansVincent YoumansVincent Youmans was an American popular composer and Broadway producer.- Life :Vincent Millie Youmans was born in New York City on September 27, 1898 and grew-up on Central Park West on the site where the Mayflower Hotel once stood. His father, a prosperous hat manufacturer, moved the family to...
, CaesarIrving CaesarIrving Caesar was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for "Swanee," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Crazy Rhythm," and "Tea for Two," one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written. He was born and died in New York.Caesar, the son of Morris Keiser, a Romanian Jew, was...
) – 2:14 - "Toshiko's Blues" (AkiyoshiToshiko Akiyoshiis a Japanese American jazz pianist, composer/arranger and bandleader. Among a very few successful female instrumentalists of her generation in jazz, she is also recognized as a major figure in jazz composition. She has received 14 Grammy nominations, and she was the first woman to win the Best...
) – 3:44 - "ShadrachShadrack (Robert MacGimsey song)"Shadrack" is a popular song written by Robert MacGimsey in the 1930s and performed by Louis Armstrong and others...
" (MacGimseyRobert MacGimseyRobert MacGimsey was an American composer. His most famous song was "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" , a well-known Christmas carol written in the style of an African-American spiritual...
) – 2:41 - "Solidado" (Akiyoshi) – 3:29
- "Squatty Roo" (HodgesJohnny HodgesJohn Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932–1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair...
) – 2:38 - "LauraLaura (1945 song)"Laura" is a 1945 popular song composed by David Raksin, with lyrics written by Johnny Mercer from the 1944 movie starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. It has since become a jazz standard with over four hundred known recordings.Some of the best known versions are by Billy Eckstine, Charlie...
" (RaksinDavid RaksinDavid Raksin was an American composer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With over 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit, he became known as the "Grandfather of Film Music." One of his earliest film assignments was as assistant to Charlie Chaplin in the composition of the score...
, MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
) – 3:27
Additional four bonus tracks on later re-issues only (from 1957 live recording, Toshiko...at Newport
Toshiko and Leon Sash at Newport
The live album Toshiko and Leon Sash at Newport was recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957 and released on the Verve record label. All 4 Toshiko Akiyoshi tracks are also included on some later re-issues of the Norgran recording Toshiko's Piano / Amazing Toshiko Akiyoshi.-Track...
):
- "Between Me and Myself" (Akiyoshi)
- "Blues for Toshiko" (Akiyoshi)
- "I'll Remember AprilI'll Remember April (song)"I'll Remember April" is a popular song. The music for the song was written by Gene de Paul, and the lyrics were written by Patricia Johnston and Don Raye....
" (RayeDon RayeDon Raye , born Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr., in Washington, D.C., was an American vaudevillian and songwriter, best known for his songs for the Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just For A Thrill" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."While known for...
, DePaulGene de PaulGene de Paul was an American pianist, composer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II....
, Johnston) - "LoverLover (song)"Lover" is a popular song written by Richard Rodgers, with words by Lorenz Hart. It was featured in the movie Love Me Tonight . Les Paul's version was a guitar instrumental released by Capitol Records in 1948. It has a french title Partout Toi...
" (RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
)
Personnel
Tracks 1~8- Toshiko AkiyoshiToshiko Akiyoshiis a Japanese American jazz pianist, composer/arranger and bandleader. Among a very few successful female instrumentalists of her generation in jazz, she is also recognized as a major figure in jazz composition. She has received 14 Grammy nominations, and she was the first woman to win the Best...
– piano - Herb EllisHerb EllisMitchell Herbert "Herb" Ellis was an American jazz guitarist. Perhaps best known for his 1950s membership in the trio of pianist Oscar Peterson, Ellis was also a staple of west-coast studio recording sessions, and was described by critic Scott Yanow as "an excellent bop-based guitarist with a...
– guitar - Ray BrownRay Brown (musician)Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
– bass - J. C. HeardJ. C. HeardJ. C. Heard a.k.a. James Charles Heard was a United States swing, bop, and blues drummer....
– drums
Tracks 9~12
- Toshiko AkiyoshiToshiko Akiyoshiis a Japanese American jazz pianist, composer/arranger and bandleader. Among a very few successful female instrumentalists of her generation in jazz, she is also recognized as a major figure in jazz composition. She has received 14 Grammy nominations, and she was the first woman to win the Best...
– piano - Gene ChericoGene ChericoEugene Valentino "Gene" Cherico was an American jazz double-bassist....
– bass - Jake HannaJake HannaJake Hanna was an American jazz drummer.Hanna first performed in his home town of Boston, and was the house drummer at Storyville for a number of years in the 1950s and 1960s. He played with Toshiko Akiyoshi , Maynard Ferguson , Marian McPartland , and Woody Herman's Orchestra...
– drums