30th Chicago Asian American Jazz Fest Day 4: Tatsu Aoki and The MIYUMI Project - November 10, 2025

Tatsu Aoki and The MIYUMI Project is one of the longest standing amalgams, drawing upon the aesthetics of Japanese traditional music and Chicago’s creative jazz and experimental music scene. The presentations are improvised compositions that stem from a conceptual framework for each band member to interpret, which is then transformed into a contemporary musical immersion for the audience. Each successive grouping of MIYUMI Project musicians over the past two decades have contributed to the unique blending of modern application with traditional sensibility. In 2017 the band was chosen as the official musical presenters for both the groundbreaking and unveiling of Yoko Ono's "Skylanding Project", which resulted in the Yoko Ono produced, “SKYLANDING” album. The group will be revisiting Tatsu Aoki and his featured ensemble offer a fusion of Avant-garde jazz interwoven with traditional taiko drumming, it is an innovative, energetic musical experience. The current roster of Tatsu Aoki’s MIYUMI Project includes creative musicians: Mwata Bowden, Coco Elysses, Edward Wilkerson Jr., Jamie Kempkers, and Kioto Aoki and members of Tsukasa Taiko.

Tatsu Aoki, born in Tokyo, to a traditional Geisha performing family, he started performing at the age of four as a part of his family’s performance crew. By the early 1970s, Aoki was active in Tokyo’s underground arts movement as well as a member of an experimental ensemble that combined traditional music and new Western forms. In 1979 Aoki emigrated to Chicago and started his musical career as a traditional Japanese lute player and contemporary experimentalist playing double bass and shamisen. Aoki was named one of 2001’s "Chicagoans of the year" by Chicago Tribune for his music for his cross-cultural music and is most noted for being the long-standing bassist for Chicago’s late great legend Fred Anderson, generating eight albums with the saxophonist. Sustaining a tireless work-ethic, he has released over 90 recording projects in the last 35 years.

Notable releases include: Basser Live (1999) and Basser Live II (2005), recorded live at MCA Stage; The MIYUMI Project (2000), Symphony of Two Cities (2002), and Posture of Reality with Wu Man (2003). The Asian American Institute awarded Aoki the Milestone Award in 2007 for his contribution to Chicago-area arts. In 2010, he received the Japan America Society of Chicago’s Cultural Achievement Award as well as the 3Arts Artist Award. He received the “Living in our Culture” award by the Japanese American Service Committee in 2014 and the Jazz Heroes’ Award by the National Jazz Journalist Association in 2015. In 2016, his MIYUMI Project ensemble was the official musical presenter for the groundbreaking, and unveiling of Yoko Ono's "SKYLANDING" installation in Chicago's own Jackson Park; this resulted in the group recording the "SKYLANDING" album produced by Yoko Ono. In 2017, the group contributed their unique vibe to the soundtrack of the film documentary addressing the Japanese American Incarceration, "And Then They Came for Us", and released the corresponding album: "And then They Came for Us - Un-American"; the film has since then received the 2018 Silver Gavel Award for Documentaries by the American Bar Association. Additional accolades include Aoki's own film "LIGHT", which he directed and received the award for Best Experimental Film in the 2017 Canada International Film Festival.

His individual achievements not-with-standing, Aoki is a world-renowned performer on the double bass and shamisen lute. He is a co-founder and Artistic Director of the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, celebrating its 28th anniversary (2023). His continuous and intense endeavors have resulted in awards from multiple cultural and musical organizations for his cross-cultural collaborations. In 2019, Aoki toured with Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble for their world tour of her “Mandorla Awakening II” project. He was also awarded the Community Service award from the Asian American Coalition of Chicago (2019) for his continued leadership and contribution to the community. In 2020, he received the United States Artist Fellowship for his work as a traditional music artist, composer, and educator, and continues to be awarded the Ethnic & Folk Arts Master Apprentice grant from the Illinois Arts Council for over 10 years. He continues to be based in Chicago, working internationally in a wide range of musical genres including Japanese traditional music, experimental, creative jazz, and most recently…alternative (improvisational) rock.