Bring the Light

Artist Profile

• Makiyo Sakai

  Makiyo Sakai Flutist. Composer   A native of Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, flutist and composer Makiyo Sakai started playing the flute at the age of 11. Her teachers included Yumiko Furuya, Naohiro Yamakoshi and Haruyuki Nakatsukasa. During her student days, she studied classical music and won awards at various competitions, including the All Japan Student Music Competition and the Biwako International Flute Competition. In addition to her solo appearances, Ms. Sakai also performs with orchestras.   Ms. Sakai earned her degree in flute performance from Osaka Kyoiku University. In 2011, she traveled to Boston for a short stay and took jazz flute lessons. In 2012, she appeared on the NHK program Jazz Live Kobe. In 2013, she moved her base of activities to Tokyo and studied with jazz musicians Makoto Oka and Gustavo Anacleto before landing her debut recording contract from major Japanese independent label Pony Canyon in 2016 and releasing her first album as a lead Silver Painting.   In 2017, Ms. Sakai performed on the album Cinema Lovers by the Jazz Lady Project, a collaboration involving 17 top female Japanese jazz musicians on the King Records label. 2018 saw the release of her 2nd album as a leader on the Pony Canyon label, Pictures at An Exhibition. In 2019, she released Porte, an album of completely original music as part of La Dew, a duo with pianist Seiko Omori. That same year, she appeared at Blue Note Tokyo with the Italian trio I Magnifici Tre. The performance was recorded and released as Made In Japan.   In 2020, Ms. Sakai released Lullaby Of The Lake, an album she recorded with fellow Shiga Prefecture native pianist Hiromu Aoki. That same year, Banda Feliz, a Brazilian band led by Ms. Sakai, released Boa Viagem. In 2023, Vida, a duo album with Sadao Watanabe sideman guitarist Marcelo Kimura came out. In 2024, she released Bring the Light with pianist Phillip Strange.   In addition to giving about 240 live performances a year in Tokyo and the Japanese countryside, Ms. Sakai also performs with artists in a wide range of genres, including Japanese pop and enka, having appeared on television as a support musician for Machiko Watanabe and Akira Fuse, and recorded with Aki Yashiro. Ms. Sakai is also highly regarded as a composer, and has also written for other artists.

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• Phillip Strange

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