Akiko Aoki

JAZZ VOCALIST/VOICE INSTRUCTOR/JAPANESE TEACHER

Akiko Aoki is a professional singer, voice instructor and Japanese teacher. Known for her jazzy phrasing and pitch control, she is an experienced and solid vocalist. Akiko's flexible character with a sense of warmth and humor, is one that encapsulates the audience. Born in Morioka of Iwate prefecture in Japan and moved to Sendai of Miyagi prefecture at the age of 3. There, she received vocal training in various chorus groups in her elementary, junior and senior high years in Japan. It was during her youth that she said to herself, "I could spend all day singing without ever getting bored". As she carried this thought with her, At age of 16, she won the chances to perform on the TV shows "NHK Nodo-Jiman" and "Star-Tanjo-(meaning Star in born) the following year. A few years later, at age of 19 Akiko would begin her professional singing career at Jazz clubs and lounges in Sendai and Yokohama Japan. Booked almost daily, she sang around six nights a week in various styles such as American pops, Jazz, and Japanese pops. Akiko would later attend Berklee College of Music on a scholarship in 1986. She took voice with some great instructors such as Jan Shapiro, Maggie Scott, and Anne Packham and piano lesson with Yuki Arimasa and Bob Winter.