(le) poisson rouge

Akiko Yano was born in Tokyo and raised in Aomori, Japan. She started playing piano at the age of three, and to take on her musical career, she moved to Tokyo alone when she was fifteen, entering into Aoyama Gakuin High School. Since then, she started doing sessions at jazz clubs, and with her skillful piano, she became popular among other musicians. Around 1972, she started playing as a member for a band with roots in Tin Pan Alley.

Akiko recorded her debut album, “Japanese Girl”, largely in Los Angeles with Lowell George and Little Feat. When it was released in 1976 many reputed her to be a “girl with a musical wonder.”

She then began collaborating with Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). They continued to play on her next recording projects and invited Akiko to join them on two of their worldwide tours. Akiko expanded her musical collaborations with YMO on her subsequent CD releases.

Akiko continued to release CDs joined by JAPAN and Pat Metheny and performed on albums by Thomas Dolby and other artists. In 1990 she relocated to New York where she collaborated and toured with some of the world's most renowned musicians including The Chieftains, Toninho Horta and Jeff Bova on his project THE HAMMONDS.

Akiko’s credits extend beyond her album projects. The famed Japanese animation film company, Studio Ghibli, who are known for works such as “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away”, showcased her. Akiko composed the music for the film "My Neighbors The Yamadas”, and performed the sound effects using only her voice for two short films "Yadosagashi" and "Mizugumo Monmon" by animation director, Hayao Miyazaki. Both films were shown at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo. More recently in 2008, Akiko performed as a voiceover actress on “Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea” as Ponyo’s sisters. In addition, Akiko composed music for Toei's animated feature, "Atashin'chi," and piano-based soundtrack for the film "Tagatameni," featuring actor Tadanobu Asada.

To date, Akiko has released 27 original albums, which 3 albums were released from Nonesuch Records: AKIKO YANO, a compilation album selected by Bob Hurwitz and John Zorn (1990), LOVE LIFE (1993) and PIANO NIGHTLY (1996).

Marc Ribot (pronounced REE-bow) was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1954. As a teen, he played guitar in various garage bands while studying with his mentor, Haitian classical guitarist and composer Frantz Casseus. After moving to New York City in 1978, Ribot was a member of the soul/punk Realtones, and from 1984 - 1989, of John Lurie's Lounge Lizards. Between 1979 and 1985, Ribot also worked as a side musician with Brother Jack McDuff, Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Chuck Berry, and many others.

Ribot's recording credits include Tom Waits, Soloman Burke, Elvis Costello, Marianne Faithful, Arto Lindsay, Caetano Veloso, Laurie Anderson, Susana Baca, McCoy Tyner, The Jazz Passengers, John Lurie's The Lounge Lizards, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Cibo Matto, Medeski Martin & Wood, James Carter, Vinicio Capposella (Italy), Auktyon (Russia), Vinicius Cantuaria, Sierra Maestra (Cuba), Alain Bashung (France), Joe Henry, Allen Toussaint, Marisa Monte, Allen Ginsburg, Madeleine Peyroux, Sam Phillips, and more recently Norah Jones, Akiko Yano, The Black Keys, Jakob Dylan, Jolie Holland, Elton John/Leon Russell, John Mellancamp and many others. Ribot frequently collaborates with producer T Bone Burnett, most notably on Alison Krauss and Robert Plant's Grammy Award winning "Raising Sand" and regularly works with composer John Zorn.

Ribot's own recording projects have included the bands Rootless Cosmopolitans (Island Antilles), Shrek (Tzadik), and Los Cubanos Postizos (Atlantic), Spiritual Unity (Pi Recordings), and his latest band Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog (Pi Recordings). Marc's solo recordings include "Marc Ribot Plays The Complete Works of Frantz Casseus" (Les Disques Du Crepuscule), "John Zorn's The Book of Heads" (Tzadik), "Don't Blame Me" (DIW), "Saints" (Atlantic), "Exercises in Futility" (Tzadik), and his latest "Silent Movies" released Sept 2010 on Pi Recordings was described as a "down-in-mouth-near master piece" by the Village Voice and has landed on several Best of 2010 lists including the LA Times and critical praise across the board.

Marc has performed on scores such as "The Kids Are All Right," "Where the Wild Things Are," "Walk The Line (Mangold)," "Everything is Illuminated," and "The Departed" (Scorcese)." Marc has also recently composed original scores for the PBS documentary "Revolucion: Cinco Miradas," and the film "Drunkboat," starring John Malkovich and John Goodman. Past scoring project include Yoshiko Chuma's "Altogether Different" dance piece, a documentary film by Greg Feldman titled "Joe Schmoe," a feature film by director Joe Brewster titled "The Killing Zone", and "In as Much as Life is Borrowed", a dance piece by famed Belgian choreographer, Wim Vandekeybus.

In 2009, Marc was named curator and musical director for the year's Century of Song Festival, part of the Ruhr Triennale in Germany. The sold-out concerts included collaborations with Iggy Pop, Marianne Faithfull, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, master cajon player Juan Medrano Cotito, Carla Bozulich and Tine Kindermann.

Marc's talents have also been showcased with a full symphony orchestra. Composer Stewart Wallace wrote a guitar concerto with orchestra specifically for Marc. The piece was premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC in July of 2004 and also appeared at The Cabrillo Festival in Santa Cruz, CA in August of 2005.

Marc is currently touring with several projects including the Albert Ayler tribute project "Spiritual Unity" (Pi Recordings), featuring original Ayler bassist Henry Grimes, his power trio Ceramic Dog with bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Ches Smith, and a new group Sun Ship featuring guitarist Mary Halvorson named after the posthumously released album by John Coltrane. In promoting his latest solo guitar release "Silent Movies", Marc is also currently touring his live film score to Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid", which was commissioned and premiered Jan 2010 at Merkin Hall by the NY Guitar Festival.

In 2010, Jennifer recorded with Ray LaMontagne and The Paria Dogs and she also toured with him. In between touring, she played on records with Steve McEwan and Leslie Mendelson, Laurie Kranz, and Sam Phillips. Jennifer’s name is found on the records of Joe Henry’s “Tiny Voices” and “Fuse”. She toured with Warren Zevon, Don Henry,,, to name a few.

His name appears on T Bone Burnett’s works and Joe Henry’s. Robert Plants and Alison Klauss “Raising Sand”, Aimee Mann “Smilers”, Paula Cole Band “Amen”, and on the works of Suzanne Vega and Slolomon Burke. Recently he is a member of T Bone’s :”The Speaking Clock Revue” concert band with Marc Ribot, Elton John and Leon Russell. He also plays with Ray LaMontagne and The Paria Dogs. “I love vintage drums. I love the way they look, feel and sound. They just make sense to me. I loe that I never know what’s going to come out of them whe I hit them from one day to the next. That adds a certain drama to the music.” (Modern Drummer)