Junko Onishi

Pianist Junko Onishi emerged among Japan's most promising jazz talents with her 1993 Blue Note debut Cruisin'. Classical piano training marked her Tokyo upbringing, though jazz soon drew her primary focus. She enrolled at Berklee before relocating to New York after three years there. By then an accomplished musician, Onishi had already performed alongside Joe Henderson, Betty Carter, Kenny Garrett, and Mingus Dynasty ahead of her first leader date. Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Ornette Coleman anchor her approach, while her remaining 1990s releases comprise 1994's Live at the Village Vanguard, 1995's Piano Quintet Suite, and 1999's Fragile. After Fragile she stepped back from recording to refine her musical direction. More than ten years passed before 2009's Musical Moments signaled her return. The following year brought her Verve debut Baroque, which included several originals by Onishi together with her readings of select 20th-century classical compositions such as "The Three Penny Opera."