Riyoko Takagi

Riyoko Takagi（高木 里代子, Takagi Riyoko, born 20 September 1984) is a Japanese Jazz pianist and composer.
==Biography==
She was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her mother was an aspiring classical pianist, so she was exposed to piano music in her household since before she could remember. She started taking piano lessons in her neighborhood at the age of 4. Shortly after she acclimated to piano, her piano teacher realized that she had a unique ability to quickly and accurately reproduce melodies that she heard with her ears on piano, so her piano teacher advised her mother that she would be better off studying with someone more specialized. 
She enrolled into a specialized children's program at Yamaha Music School, where she studied classical music and composition. There she had her first piano recital at age 7 and her first televised piano performance of original composition at age 12 as part of Yamaha Junior Concert series. She entered Yamaha Music School conservatory program when she was in Junior High school and continued studying classical composition. In a conservatory program among her seniors were classical pianist Ayako Uehara and a fellow Jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara. 
The first major decision of her music career was made when she was in High School and she started to doubt about continuing on the classical path where you must play the score faithfully and creativity is limited. In addition to classical music, there were also Jazz CDs in her parents' home and she liked the idea of Jazz improvisation, which is like composing music and reacting to other musicians in real-time. At the age of 17 she started seriously focusing on Jazz music for the first time in her career. Instead of focusing on Jazz music theory she started focusing on practical aspects of improvisation, studying artists like Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett from the albums she had at her parents' home. She already had all the musical foundations that she learned at Yamaha Music School since a young age. 
All her family graduated from Keio University, so she enrolled to Keio University SFC to study creative use of computers but the program turned out not what she expected, so she switched studies and graduated with a degree in Environment and Information Studies in 2007. While attending Keio University, she started playing authentic Jazz in local piano lounges and Jazz clubs - her main activity she continued throughout her entire career, even while doing other stints outside of authentic Jazz music. This allowed her to spend a lot of time playing various piano makes and models, contributing to her unique delicate touch on the keys. 
==Career==
In 2008, she also started working as a keyboardist for the club-based house unit Inner City Jam Orchestra. She continued this club-music activity in parallel with her authentic Jazz music activities until 2018. This is where her strong Pop, House, EDM music influences came from. 
In 2009, her first Jazz piano trio album "After Tears" was released by HAL Records (HARU Records).
In April 2014, she won 1st place in popularity poll in a video competition sponsored by the Diners Club. After that she appeared in Blue Note Tokyo, where she performed with Lee Ritenour and others. In June 2014, she won 4th place in the world in piano category in Lee Ritenour's sponsored competition, Six String Theory. In September 2014, she participated in the Montreux Jazz Festival Japan competition and advanced to the semifinals.
In 2015, her first solo Jazz piano album "Salone" was released by HD Impression. It was very well received album showcasing her authentic Jazz solo piano performances. In September 2015, she performed two days on stages of the 14th "Tokyo JAZZ". In November 2015, Avex Trax released two of her mini-albums "THE INTRO!" and "IN WINTER!" (digital distribution only).
In 2016, Avex Trax released her first major label debut music album "THE DEBUT!" incorporating Jazz into Pop/House music genre. Under Avex Trax marked a strong change of direction for her as an artist as far as album releases go. Also, she began to use her beauty and body with a goal to popularize Jazz music to younger generations that normally wouldn't be exposed to Jazz. She would often perform at music festivals wearing a bikini or other sensational outfits and would perform various anime cosplays on her YouTube channel. During this period her name became a hot topic on the streets and in the Japanese media. Despite a new musical direction as far as album releases are concerned and new persona image, she still continued her authentic Jazz piano activities. Change of direction on her the albums and in her persona resulted in a little bit of confusion between newer fans and older fans as can be seen on Amazon reviews of her albums around this time period and comments on her YouTube channel. In 2016 she performed her original compositions in a Jazz piano trio featuring world-renowned Jazz-fusion female drummer Senri Kawaguchi and Jazz bassist Nori Shiota, who is the owner of Steelpan Records. 
In February 2017, she won Jazz Japan - New Star category award. In April 2017, her second solo Jazz piano album "Dream of You ~ Salone II" was released by HD Impression. This album was very well received and marked return back to authentic Jazz solo piano as far as album releases are concerned.
In January 2018, she performed at Yamaha's event commemorating 100th anniversary of Japan Jazz "Golden Age of Jazz [100]" resulting in release of her DVD "Live Lab" by Atos International, containing solo piano live performances from the event.
In September 2019, her third solo Jazz piano album "Resonance" was released by HD Impression. It became a highly acclaimed work that showcased new musicality that spun a straight-ahead Jazz piano.
In 2020-2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was active in various production activities and her YouTube channel. The videos she performed in have become a hot topic with hundreds of thousands of views and several in the millions.
In 2021, she also began regular FM radio performances every 3rd Monday on Shibuya Cross FM radio on her program SOUND NOVA. In September 2021, she represented Japan in an annual televised Japan-Korea Exchange Festival and performed her Jazz piano trio arrangements of K-Pop (BTS, Blackpink, BigBang, Yoon Mi-Rae) in two sessions (1 2). According to YouTube video statistics, her 40-minute Jazzified K-Pop performance at the festival is the most rewatched portion of nearly 5-hour festival archive footage. 
In November 2021, her second Jazz piano trio album "Celebrity Standards" was released by Steelpan Records. In January 2022, her third Jazz piano trio album "Jewelry Box" was released by Steelpan Records. Both albums were recorded during the same session and released months apart, each featuring 60-40 split of her original compositions and her interpretations of popular Jazz standard pieces. Both albums are highly acclaimed on Amazon reviews (4.5+/5, 100+ reviews each) and propelled her to the top of Japanese Jazz music scene.
In January 2022, she appeared in the stage "From That Girl, Me" starring Yuka Kurotani as a composer and piano performer. Also in 2022, she began regular appearances as a pianist on Mondays and Thursdays on TBS's "THE TIME" TV show.
In April 2023, her fourth Jazz piano trio album "The Piano Story" was released by Steelpan Records, consistently ranking at #1~#2 on Amazon Japan charts in Jazz music category during pre-orders leading up to release. Album tour schedules are set and will get underway in the coming weeks.
Currently, she is busy touring all over Japan. She has also appeared in many media such as TV and magazines. With her charming character, high musicality, and performance, she has won and continues to attract a wide range of fans not just from Japan but from all over the world.
==Discography==
===Albums===
* After Tears (HAL records, 2009) Jazz piano trio
* RYUDO (Daiki Sound, 2009) Keyboards, Inner City Jam Orchestra
* CURE☆JAZZ (Victor Entertainment, 2012) featuring Riyoko Silent Jazz Case
* Bousou JAZZ II (Insense Music Works, 2013) Purple Jazz Project - Anime theme performances on piano
* Salone (HD Impression, 2015) Jazz solo piano
* THE DEBUT! (Avex Trax, 2016) Pop/Jazz
* Dream of You ~ Salone II (HD Impression, 2017) Jazz solo piano
* Resonance (HD Impression, 2019) Jazz solo piano
* Celebrity Standards (Steelpan Records, 2021) Jazz piano trio
* Jewelry Box (Steelpan Records, 2022) Jazz piano trio
* The Piano Story (Steelpan Records, 2023) Jazz piano trio
===Mini-Albums===
* THE INTRO! (Avex Trax, 2015, digital distribution only)
* IN WINTER! (Avex Trax, 2015, digital distribution only)
===DVD===
* Live Lab (Atos International, 2018)
Category:1984 births
Category:People from Tokyo
Category:Japanese people
Category:Japanese jazz pianists
Category:Composers