RIE AKAGI & CHIEMI NAKAI NOCHE ESPECIAL at Subrosa

Tokyo meets New York. Special performance by two Japanese female Latin musicians featuring GRAMMY NOMINEE Percussionist Wilson “Chembo” Corniel.
Rie Akagi

RIE AKAGI By making the full use of her excellently trained classic background, Rie Akagi is the only female flutist in Japan who can perform salsa/latin jazz and soul jazz with a startling agressiveness. Known to be the leading Caribbean Flutist, she has gained great reputation from not only the Caribbean Seas but from around the world as one of the promising contemporary performers , ripe and blooming.

The Big Guys of the salsa world such as Tito Puente, Larry Hallow, Willie Colon or Michel Camilo, Dave Valentin from the jazz scene have all recognized the energetic performance and great technic of Rie Akagi. She has performed at famous jazz festivals such as “the Concord Jazz Festival in San Fransisco” “Jazz Plaza in Cuba””Festival internacional del jazz 2012 en carolina puerto rico”and received a full standing ovation from the excited audience everywhere she went. She is known for her Magic Flute around the Caribbean Seas, and there is no doubt that she is one of the best performing female flutists with brilliant technic and agressiveness recognized from the world....

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Tokyo meets New York. Special performance by two Japanese female Latin musicians featuring GRAMMY NOMINEE Percussionist Wilson “Chembo” Corniel.
Rie Akagi

RIE AKAGI By making the full use of her excellently trained classic background, Rie Akagi is the only female flutist in Japan who can perform salsa/latin jazz and soul jazz with a startling agressiveness. Known to be the leading Caribbean Flutist, she has gained great reputation from not only the Caribbean Seas but from around the world as one of the promising contemporary performers , ripe and blooming.

The Big Guys of the salsa world such as Tito Puente, Larry Hallow, Willie Colon or Michel Camilo, Dave Valentin from the jazz scene have all recognized the energetic performance and great technic of Rie Akagi. She has performed at famous jazz festivals such as “the Concord Jazz Festival in San Fransisco” “Jazz Plaza in Cuba””Festival internacional del jazz 2012 en carolina puerto rico”and received a full standing ovation from the excited audience everywhere she went. She is known for her Magic Flute around the Caribbean Seas, and there is no doubt that she is one of the best performing female flutists with brilliant technic and agressiveness recognized from the world.

One opportunity which made her name known outside Japan was the six monthes stay in Puerto Rico as a Culture Exchange member dispatched from the Japanese Goverment. Even though the stay was short she actively performed in various occasions such as the Japan/Puerto Rico Friendship Concert held at the National Museum of Arts(co-­‐sponsored by the Japanese Consulate in New York) or performing together with Luis Perico Ortiz, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Cacheto Mardonado and Batacumbele,Pedro Guzman and many other top artists concerts or recordings, thus making her name and talent well known throughout the Caribbean Seas.

Chiemi Nakai

A native of Japan, pianist/composer/arranger Chiemi Nakai began classical training at a young age and moved in the direction of Jazz, Afro-Cuban music and Salsa. Her talents were recognized early by some heavy hitters such as Albert “Toottie” Heath in 1992.

In 1993, she began to play in “Mamborama,” — led by Yoshio Yamada(b) — which is the most remarkable Latin jazz & salsa group in Osaka, and joined its recording work in 1997 (“Japonismo”).

She came to NYC in 1998 to expand her music career and in 2000 entered Aaron Copland School of Music/Queens College to study big band Jazz arrangement under Michael Phillip Mossman(tp). There she also took lessons under Sir Roland Hanna (p). She graduated Queens College/M.A. Jazz Performance in 2002.

In 2002, she joined Jimmy Bosch (tb) band, and also played with “Omi Odara” and Juan Carlos Formell (b), “The Cuban Mission” which combines Juan’s compositions with Afro-Cuban folk.

In 2006, she performed at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall with Carlos del Pino(b) Cuban Project which collaborates with the music of Cuban contemporary music composer Miss Tania Leon. Since 2002 she has been a band leader of “Chiemi Nakai the Afro- Cuban Jazz Project” and playing at several clubs in NYC such as Blue Note, Jazz at Kitano and so on. The first album “bridges” released in March 2008 and it was nominated as one of “Next Generation Artist” CDs in the Latin Jazz Corner Best Latin Jazz of 2008 Award. Moreover it was selected as one of Top 6 Latin Jazz CDs of Diskunion Japan /Union Award 2008. In 2014 she released a piano trio album called “Transformation”. She is currently finishing up a new album to be released soon.

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