NY-based composer/pianist Yayoi Ikawa has collaborated with artists across diverse styles of music. As a founder of The Bridge Project which cultivates musical dialogues between cultures around the world, she strives to lift up humanity through understanding and encouraging herself and others. Her new project Songs of my heart is an intimate expression of self through her daily life during and post-pandemic era.

Yayoi Ikawa (Jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator)
Born in Tokyo, Japan, but raised musically in New York, pianist/composer Yayoi Ikawa is an
experience of ingenuity and compassion. Using music as a powerful communicational tool,
Yayoi strives to lift humanity through understanding and encouraging herself and others.
After recording a straight-ahead jazz piano trio on Nippon Crown release “Angel Eyes” in 2004,
she self-produced “Color of Dreams” displaying her original compositions. Since then her group
has featured in various music festivals and concerts in U.S., Italy, Japan, Costa Rica Guadeloupe,
and Martinique.
In 2008, Yayoi started “The Bridge Project” to create musical dialogues between different
cultures. Based on that experience, she often plays the role of coordinator. In 2000, she assisted
a legendary producer Jim Luce to create an online solo piano concert series “Love Letter from
New York” featuring New York’s finest jazz pianists. In 2021, she was a coordinator for a multicultural
performance event “Jazz United” by Japanese Radio Station Jazz.net.
While working towards her master's degree at NYU, Yayoi’s orchestra work for film was
premiered at Lincoln Center in 2007. As a composer and arranger, Yayoi received commissions
from Modern Music Society of Tokyo, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and
Montreal-based sculpture David Baumflek.
Yayoi believes that Jazz is a social activity, and strives to learn from elders, collaborate with
peers and pass it on to future generations. Yayoi has worked with such legendary artists as
Reggie Workman, Michael Carvin, Howard Johnson, Butch Morris, Craig Harris, Michal
Urbaniak, Frank Lacy, Salim Washington, Emeline Michel, James Germain, Daniel Bernard
Roumain, The Meditations, etc. Yayoi holds a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance from New
School University as well as one in International Studies from International Christian University,
Tokyo Japan. More of her musical journey can be seen on www.yayoiikawa.net

Lionel Cordew drums
Rashaan Carter bass
Yayoi Ikawa piano & compositions