Junko Onishi

Junko Onishi (大西 順子, Onishi Junko, born April 16, 1967 in Kyoto) is a Japanese jazz pianist; she plays in the post-bop genre. After studying at Berklee she moved to New York City, where she played with Joe Henderson, Betty Carter, Kenny Garrett, and Mingus Dynasty. She has also worked with Jackie McLean, Holly Cole, and Billy Higgins, among many others, and recorded eight CDs for Blue Note as a leader. Although she lists Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Ornette Coleman as her primary influences, her playing is also reminiscent of McCoy Tyner and contemporaries such as Kenny Kirkland and Mulgrew Miller (check out her solo on "Ja-Hed" from "Live at the Blue Note Tokyo" with alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett). She appears in the 1997...