Toshiko Akiyoshi
"I wanted more than just to play jazz. I wanted to be able to express my thoughts on social and political issues. For that, I needed the additional colors of a big band."
This petite woman from Japan made a giant contribution to jazz in the form of her piano playing and her big band writing.
She never pursued fame. She simply wanted to express herself in the most authentic manner possible. The big band was her means for that expression. She didn’t study writing in school. She wrote what she heard and then found musicians sufficiently skilled on their instrument to play the parts and come together to give musical form to her vision.