Erena Terakubo was a Japanese-born girl who was born in Sapporo in 1992. At nine years old, she began playing alto saxophone. She was a member of the Sapporo Junior Jazz Orchestra from the age of 10 to 15. There she had jazz clinics with Tiger Okoshi and Herbie Hancock. Terakubo attended the Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program. She was awarded a full-tuition scholarships and was selected to participate in the Berklee Summer Jazz Workshop. She recorded “North Bird”, her first album in 2010, with Christian McBride and Lee Pearson. King, a Japanese major record label, released the album in Japan. It reached number. The album reached number 1 on Japanese jazz charts and was awarded the Swing Journal’s Gold Disc. She performed later that year with Omar Hakim and Ron Carter as part of Tokyo Jazz Festival. Terakubo recorded “New York Attitude”, her second album in 2011, with Kenny Barron and Ron Carter. Dominick Farinacci was one of six Presidential Scholars selected from all over the globe to attend Berklee College of Music, Boston. Sapporo City Jazz Festival and Tokyo Jazz Festival were some of her concert appearances. Her collaborations with musicians like Sadao Watanabe and Terumasa hino, Leny White, Ron Carter, and Jimmy Cobb have been a highlight of her concert appearances. Her long-awaited third album, “Burkina”, was released in 2013. It features Kenny Barron and Ron Carter as well as Lenny White.
