EMI MEYER
Genres: Pop, Art Song, Folk, World Fusion, Vocal Jazz, RnB • Japan

Emi Meyer (born March 1987) is a Japanese-born, American-raised Jazz pianist and singer-songwriter based in Seattle and Tokyo, active in both the Japanese and American markets. Meyer was born in Kyoto, Japan, but grew up in Seattle, Washington. Her father is American while her mother is Japanese and a professor of Art History. Meyer began learning classical piano at age six but expanded to Jazz. Meyer attended University Prep, a school in Seattle. Meyer studied ethnomusicology and international relations in Los Angeles, including Indian ragas, African drumming and Japanese gagaku (classical court music). She wrote her thesis on the division in the modern Japanese music scene between hogaku (Japanese music) and yogaku (Western music). She first lived in Japan when she took a study-abroad program in the city of her birth, Kyoto.  In 2007 Meyer won the Seattle-Kobe Jazz Vocalist Competition, which kickstarted her career in Japan. Meyer's 2007 self-produced debut read more...