Martha Kato

Born and raised in Nagoya, Japan, Martha Kato is a pianist, composer and arranger in her blossoming career in New York. 

Based in New York since 2009, she has performed across the world as a bandleader and collaborator at major venues such as Blue Note, Jazz Standard, Blue Note Tokyo, Cotton Club Japan, The Jazz Gallery, Dizzy’s Club, Smoke Jazz & Supper Club and Smalls Jazz Club. Playing in a wide range of styles and instrumentations, she has shared the stage and studio-recording with collaborators including Remy Le Boeuf, Miho Hazama, Takuya Kuroda, Alexis Cuadrado, and Pedro Giraudo. 

In 2022, she performed with her trio at the Tel Aviv Jaffa Jazz Festival as a headliner and her performance captivated the Israeli audience.

Her debut album Tales from The Trees (Somethin' Cool, 2016) has highlighted her brilliance both in playing and writing, featuring the 8-piece band with her vocals which add a unique taste to the ensemble. Mixed flavors from music of West Africa, South America, Jazz and classical music, her music keeps the weight of improvisation and composition in an interesting balance. The album was elected for Jazz Life Disc Grand Prix, category of New Stars by Japanese jazz magazine Jazz Life. 

Her recent work includes some big band commissions. The big band arrangement of her composition After The Rain won the 1st place at Yamano Big Band Contest in 2017 performed by Keio Light Society Music. 

Martha’s awards and honors include the ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Award (2012), ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award (2014) and she is a second-place winner of Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition in Kawasaki 2014. She was a scholarship recipient of The Juilliard School and The New School, where she studied with Kenny Barron, Kevin Hays, Robert Sadin, Reggie Workman and more. She is on Remy Le Boeuf's Grammy-nominated album "Assembly of Shadows" and "Architecture of Storms" as a pianist. She has a bachelor’s degree from The New School.

 加藤真亜沙 (ピアニスト・作編曲家) 

愛知県出身。第63回グラミー賞ノミネート作品であるレミー・ルブフのアルバム”Assembly of Shadows”にピアニストとして参加。幼少よりクラシックピアノと作曲を学び、高校在学中にビル・エヴァンスの音楽に出会いジャズに傾倒。2009年渡米。奨学金のもと、ニュースクール大学にてケヴィン・ヘイズ、アーロン・ゴールドバーグ、ロバート・サディン、レジー・ワークマン等に師事。在学中より演奏活動を行う。同大学を2013年に卒業後、奨学金を得てジュリアード音楽院ジャズ科修士課程に入学しケニー・バロンに師事。2012年「ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards」、2014年「ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award」を受賞。「モントルー・ジャズ・ソロ・ピアノ・コンペティション・イン・かわさき2014」準優勝。2016年にデビューアルバム「Tales from The Trees / アンモーンの樹」を発表。色彩感覚溢れた完成度の高いアルバムはシーンで話題となった。新進気鋭の作曲家を紹介するニューヨークのイベント「Jazz Composers’ Showcase」にも選出され、名門ジャズクラブや各地フェスティヴァルに出演するなどJAZZの本場ニューヨークを拠点に活動を続けている。