MIHO SASAKI

ORNITHOLOGY CAFE / MARCH 10

Miho Sasaki is a New York-based jazz pianist who hails from Tokyo, Japan. Her electric playing style reflects the depth and scope of work she’s put into mastering jazz piano. One can hear influences – McCoy and Cedar are two of many – and yet the synthesis she creates is clearly stamped with her own identity. While fully capable of virtuosic technique, what really impresses are the creative choices Miho brings into her improvisation. There are no wasted notes, and every nuance is there by intention. Especially poignant is the balance she strikes between head and heart in her music, which includes some strikingly beautiful original compositions. Miho’s mentor was piano great Donald Vega, with whom she studied while on a James Moody Jazz Scholarship. If you want to hear a future jazz star in the making, catch Miho’s trio at Ornithology Café with bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Aaron Seeber.  JZ