Akira Tana was born and raised in California. She holds degrees from Harvard University as well as the New England Conservatory of Music. Tana has worked alongside SONNY ROLLINS and SONNY STITT as well as ZOOT SIMS. HUBERT LAWS, MILT JACKSON. JIM HALL, ARTFARMER, THE PAUL WINTER CONSORT. PAQUITO D’RIVERA. JAMES MOODY. LENA HORNE. THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER. RUTH BROWN. CHARLES AZNAVOUR. MAURICE HINES AND VAN DYKE PARKS. Over 150 recordings have featured him. Tana, along with Rufus Reid, co-led a quintet called TanaReid. It has five albums, “Yours and Mine”, and “Passing Thoughts,” both on Concord Records. “Blue Motion” and “Looking Forward” are on Evidence Music. “Back to Front” is on Evidence Music. Akira is a leader on Sons of Sound and has two releases, “Moon Over the World” and Secret Agent Men. Sons of Sound’s third US leader release is “Moon Over the World” by Akira. It features themes from James Bond movies, and is performed by Secret Agent Men Band. Annie Sellick sings the song. A project called “JAZZaNOVA” was released in Japan by Vega Records. It features Claudio Amaral and Claudia Villela as well as the vocalists Sandy Cressman, Carla Helmbrecht and Carla Helmbrecht. Branford Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval are among the guest artists. The project will be released in America in 2014. As a leader, the most recent recording is “Otonowa”, which features jazz interpretations and pop melodies from Japan. It was released in 2014. The group recently completed a Tohoku tour, performing and teaching in communities still rebuilding after the 2011 earthquake/Tsunamai. Tana is an active clinician and teacher. She has taught at Rutgers University. Queens College. Jersey City State College. New York University. Tana is currently on faculty at San Francisco State University. Tana endorses VIC FIRTH STICKS, CRESCENT CYMBALS and YAMAHA DRUMS. Visit www.akiratana.com
