Yoko Suzuki is an alto saxophonist working in Pittsburgh and New York City. She started to play the alto saxophone upon joining a jazz ensemble at Osaka University in Japan, teaching herself jazz theory, improvisation and repertoire. After working as a musician in Osaka, Japan and New York City, she moved to Pittsburgh in 2006. She received a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology and a PhD certificate in women’s studies at the University of Pittsburgh in 2011. She has taught a wide variety of courses including “Jazz Improvisation,” “History of Jazz,” “Introduction to Feminist Theory,” and “Gender and Sexuality in Black Popular Music” at the University of Pittsburgh.

 Featured Musicians:

Yoko Suzuki (sax); Cliff Barnes (organ/piano); James Johnson III (drums)

Cliff Barnes, Yoko Suzuki, James Johnson III