Akiko Pavolka — artist
Akiko Pavolka is a Japanese-born vocalist, composer and educator based in New York. Her strikingly original music blends pop and jazz with the music and sensibilities of her native Japan. She has released four albums as a leader. Her band House of Illusion has toured in the United States, Europe and Japan. Akiko has also composed music for commissioned projects in Japan and was a founding member of the underground rock band Entropy in the late 90s. In addition to her own recordings she can be heard on Japanese Koto Virtuoso Mizuyo Komiya's new release Zumik Music, Alan Ferber's release Exit Row, and Matt Pavolka's upcoming release Something People Can Use. Akiko is also an educator and clinician, teaching voice and piano privately and in group settings. Akiko was born in Tokyo and grew up in Yokohama, Japan. By her teen years she was performing as a singer, bassist and drummer with rock and roll bands. Her interests turned to jazz and after several years of gigging as a vocalist in Tokyo, she moved to the United States to study at Berklee College of Music. She graduated in 1994 with a degree in Performance and was also awarded the Cleo Laine Outstanding Vocalist Award. Akiko has lived in New York since 1995. Her band has performed in New York City venues including Joe's Pub, The Knitting Factory, Fez, The Living Room, Barbes, Rockwood Music Hall and Cornelia Street Café.