Yoshiaki Miyanoue at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest at Plaza De César Chávez

Guitarist Yoshiaki Miyanoue embodies the global nature of jazz having gone full circle from impressionable music student in his native Tokyo to ambassador for the American art form two and a half decades later. With his Wes Montgomery-inspired pick-free playing, he inspires both foot tapping and serious listening.

Miyanoue first starting playing guitar at age ten and was soon pursing jazz styles after hearing a Wes Montgomery recording in junior high school. He formed his own band with peers in high school and upon graduating had two different groups — a trio with Americans that played at the N.C.O. Club on Yokota Air Base and a Japanese quartet that played clubs and bars in Tokyo....

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Guitarist Yoshiaki Miyanoue embodies the global nature of jazz having gone full circle from impressionable music student in his native Tokyo to ambassador for the American art form two and a half decades later. With his Wes Montgomery-inspired pick-free playing, he inspires both foot tapping and serious listening.

Miyanoue first starting playing guitar at age ten and was soon pursing jazz styles after hearing a Wes Montgomery recording in junior high school. He formed his own band with peers in high school and upon graduating had two different groups — a trio with Americans that played at the N.C.O. Club on Yokota Air Base and a Japanese quartet that played clubs and bars in Tokyo.

Moving to New York in his mid-20’s to study in the birthplace of modern jazz, he later returned to Japan to record his debut album, appropriately titled Song for Wes. Released on the Japanese King Record label, it features contributions from legendary drummer Philly Joe Jones, who at the time was touring Japan as a member of the Bill Evans Trio.

After developing a healthy concert and recording career at home Miyanoue began to gig in India and teach jazz in Guangzhou, China in the ’80s. Early in the following decade, he played at the Monterey and Queens Jazz Festivals and also participated in the Hawai’i Jazz Guitar Festival.

These days, Miyanoue brings his style of effortless elegance wherever he plays, be it in downtown Tokyo or Summer Fest 2018.

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