Cover art for Akiko Yano's self-titled album "Akiko Yano" (1982), used as a stand-in — no free-licensed photo of Yano could be located after a genuine search. Standard copyright, all rights reserved — held by the artist/label. This is not a Creative Commons–licensed image; it is used here as an honestly-disclosed editorial stand-in for a real photo. — Downloaded directly from the release's Discogs listing (`https://www.discogs.com/master/493537-Akiko-Yano-Akiko-Yano`), full-resolution cover scan hosted at `i.discogs.com`. Saved locally as `portrait.jpg` in this folder.

Akiko Yano, born Akiko Suzuki in Tokyo on February 13, 1955, studied jazz piano in high school before her music career took off in a very different direction. Her debut album, Japanese Girl (1976), was recorded in Los Angeles with Lowell George and Little Feat backing her on a portion of the record — a notable credential for a 21-year-old making her first record — and launched a career that became one of the most original in Japanese pop of the era.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s she toured the world with Yellow Magic Orchestra as support keyboardist, alongside her then-husband Ryuichi Sakamoto, with whom she also became a musical partner through the decade. Her career during this period stretched across genres and borders: Little Feat supported her on the US West Coast, she recorded with the UK band Japan (led by David Sylvian), and she went on to work with Thomas Dolby, guitarist Pat Metheny, The Chieftains, Brazilian guitarist Toninho Horta, and guitarist Marc Ribot.

After separating from Sakamoto in the 1990s, Yano relocated permanently to New York, the base she has worked from since. It was there that the jazz training underneath her pop career resurfaced as an active pursuit rather than a formative influence: she began performing and recording regularly with New York jazz and session musicians, and since 2003 has led the Akiko Yano Trio — bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Cliff Almond — in ongoing engagements at Blue Note Tokyo, alongside a parallel trio configuration with bassist Will Lee and drummer Chris Parker. She also plays regular dates at Joe's Pub, New York Public Theater.

She has continued releasing music well into her seventies, with her Discogs catalog running through a 2026 release, To the Living Creatures.

Yano's music resists a single genre label by design — pop songcraft, jazz-trained piano improvisation, folk, and experimental composition all show up across her catalog, sometimes within a single record. Her jazz-piano training, largely dormant during her most commercially prominent pop years, became a foregrounded part of her working practice again once she relocated to New York and began performing regularly in jazz-trio settings.

Japanese Girl (1976) - Her debut, recorded in Los Angeles with Lowell George and Little Feat. Spotify Listen
Welcome to Jupiter (2015) - A record from her New York-based later period. Spotify Listen · Buy
Akiko Yano Trio at Blue Note Tokyo - Her ongoing jazz-trio work with Anthony Jackson and Cliff Almond, running since 2003.
Super Folk Song (1992, Epic) - A representative mid-career studio album.

Akiko Yano: Full Discography

Discogs artist ID 143916 (矢野顕子, born Akiko Suzuki 鈴木顕子). Identity confirmed via the entity's own detailed profile text plus a WebSearch synthesis independently corroborating the Japanese Girl recording circumstances, the YMO/Sakamoto relationship, and the New York jazz-trio work. 479 credits total: 120 Main, 255 Appearance, 80 TrackAppearance, 18 UnofficialRelease, 5 Producer, 1 Co-producer — an unusually large catalog reflecting five decades as a working Japanese pop artist. Given the scale, this discography selects the artist's landmark releases, the YMO/Sakamoto-era work, and the New York jazz period, rather than attempting to catalog the full run of Japanese-market singles and reissue compilations. See the scale note at the end.

Amazon Associates note: no Associates tag has been set up for this project yet, so every Buy link below is a plain (non-affiliate) Amazon search link. Add ?tag=<ASSOCIATES_TAG> to each once Erik provides one.

Landmark and Selected Leader Albums

Album	Year	Label	Notes	Listen	Buy
Japanese Girl (日本少女)	1976	—	Debut album, recorded in Los Angeles with Lowell George and Little Feat	Spotify	Amazon
The Super Ladies (ザ・スーパー・レディーズ)	1978	Philips			Amazon
Gohan Ga Dekitayo (ごはんができたよ)	1980	Japan Record			Amazon
Tadaima (ただいま)	1981	Japan Record			Amazon
From Japan to Japan	1982	—			Amazon
Akiko Yano (self-titled)	1982	—	Source of this profile's stand-in cover image		Amazon
Listen to Me, Now!	1983	—			Amazon
Brooch	1985	—			Amazon
Granola (グラノーラ)	1987	—			Amazon
Home Music	1988	MIDI Inc.			Amazon
David	1990	Midi Inc.			Amazon
Super Folk Song (スーパーフォークソング)	1992	Epic			Amazon
Elephant Hotel	1994	—			Amazon
Piano Nightly	1995	—			Amazon
Girlfriends Forever	1999	Epic			Amazon
Dreaming Girl	2002	Epic			Amazon
Reverb	2002	—			Amazon
Presto	2006	Yamaha Music Communications			Amazon
Akiko	2008	—			Amazon
Welcome to Jupiter	2015	—	New York-era record	Spotify	Amazon
Yanosanmyaku (矢野山脈)	2016	Speedstar			Amazon
Soft Landing	2017	Victor Entertainment / Speedstar			Amazon
Asteroid and Butterfly	2020	Better Days			Amazon
Step Into Paradise — Live in Tokyo	2024	Telarc			Amazon
To the Living Creatures (生きものたちへ)	2026	—	Most recent release found on this pass		Amazon

The New York jazz-trio period (not individually catalogued on Discogs by concert)

Since 2003, Yano has led the Akiko Yano Trio — bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Cliff Almond — in regular engagements at Blue Note Tokyo, and separately performs and records under the same trio banner with bassist Will Lee and drummer Chris Parker. She plays regular dates at Joe's Pub, New York Public Theater. No individual studio album from this specific trio configuration was identified as a standalone Discogs Main credit on this pass; this period is documented through venue listings and press coverage rather than a discrete discography entry.

YMO / Ryuichi Sakamoto era

Toured worldwide with Yellow Magic Orchestra in the early 1980s as support keyboardist, alongside then-husband Ryuichi Sakamoto — a direct connection to Sakamoto, queued separately in this project's non-jazz group.

Scale note

Discogs lists 479 total credits for Akiko Yano, the largest catalog encountered in this project so far, reflecting five decades as a prolific, mainstream Japanese recording artist across pop, folk, soundtrack, and children's-music work. The tables above select landmark and jazz-relevant releases; the great majority of her catalog (Japanese-market singles, soundtrack contributions, live-album reissues, and various-artist compilations) was not individually catalogued, consistent with this project's standing practice for exceptionally prolific artists.

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Husband and musical partner from the early 1980s through their 1990s separation; she toured with his band, Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Lowell George and Little Feat - Backed her debut album, Japanese Girl (1976), and later supported her on West Coast US dates.
David Sylvian - Recorded with his band, Japan.
Anthony Jackson and Cliff Almond - Her working trio at Blue Note Tokyo since 2003.
Will Lee and Chris Parker - A parallel trio configuration under the same Akiko Yano Trio billing.
Pat Metheny, Thomas Dolby, The Chieftains, Toninho Horta, Marc Ribot - Later cross-genre collaborators.

Akiko Yano — Discogs artist 143916 (profile and full paginated release list retrieved via the Discogs API)
WebSearch synthesis of bluenotejazz.com, hhv-mag.com, peoplepill.com, sfcv.org, and coverage referencing the English Wikipedia article on Akiko Yano
Spotify Web API catalog lookups