About Martha

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、65回グラミー賞で各2部門にノミネートされたレミー・ルブフのアルバム『Assembly of Shadows』『Architecture of Storms』にピアニストとして参加。2009年に渡米して以来ニューヨークを拠点に演奏活動を展開し、昨年はTel Aviv Jaffa Jazz Festivalにヘッドライナーとして自身のトリオで出演するなど、世界を舞台に活動の場を広げている。また、2012年「ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards」、2014年「ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award」を受賞するなど、作曲家としてのその才能も開花させている。2016年にデビューアルバム『Tales from The Trees / アンモーンの樹』を発表し、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。2021年、2022年にはソロピアノシングル2曲をリリース。今夏リリースした待望の2ndアルバム『Solúna』では前作を受け継ぐアンサンブルがより一層進化して、壮大な世界を繰り広げる。