Yoshiaki Miyanoue
(Jazz Guitarist, Composer, Producer, Educator)

Yoshiaki Miyanoue was born in Setagaya, Tokyo on 7 Oct. 1953. At the age of 10, he took up the guitar. In his last year of junior high school, he heard a record of Wes Montgomery and became interested in jazz. 

When he was a high school boy at Musashino High School in Tokyo, he formed a band. After graduating from the school, he joined the "New Group" trio, including Joe Davis (org) and Jerry Eddy (ds), and played at the "N.C.O" Club at Yokota Air Base in Yokosuka for three years. At the same time, he had his own quartet and played at jazz night clubs and bars in Tokyo.

In 1977, he traveled to New York to develop his artistic strength and maturity. After returning home, he made his national debut by releasing an album "Song for Wes" (King Record), with Philly Joe Jones as a guest drummer, who was on a visit to Japan at the time as a member of the Bill Evans Trio (p). Thereafter he has released one album after another. Among others, "Touch of Love" (Bap Record), in which Jimmy Smith, the greatest organist, joined as a guest player; "Tribute to Wes Montgomery" (King Record), collections from his live recordings; and "Foxy Eyes" (Toshiba EMI), in which a strings orchestra was used to give the sound an easy-listening flavor, are highly appraised. In releasing his fourth album "Riviera" (Columbia Record) in 1981, he named his own group "Smokin'". Up until today, Smokin' has played at jazz night clubs in Tokyo and toured all over the nation. In the mean time,  Smokin'  appeared on some TV and FM radio music programs while playing at jazz concerts and festivals overseas.

In 1988, as a guest player from Japan, Miyanoue took part in "Jazz Yatra," a jazz festival held every four years in India. He also flew to Guangzhou in China and taught Chinese musicians the essense of jazz through recordings. 

Almost every year from 1991, Miyanoue, together with Eiji Kitamura (cl), performed at the "Montery Jazz Festival" in California. In 1992 and 1993, he also played at the "Queen's Jazz Festival" in Brisbane, Australia.

In June 1993, Miyanoue was invited by the University of Hawaii to the "Hawaii Jazz Guitar Festival" as the guest guitarist from Japan.

Miyanoue never uses a pick. His unique style of flicking the strings only with his right thumb belongs to the school of Wes Montgomery. But further improving the Wes style, Miyanoue has steadily established his own style. 

There are many enthusiastic fans all over the nation of his sound -- imcomparable technique and poetic phrasing -- and musicianship. This is proved by the fact that over 25 years, Miyanoue ranks high in popularity polls in the field of guitarists for the Swing Journal magazine.