Sumie Kaneko

Sumie Kaneko is a Japanese musician based in New York who plays koto, the long thirteen-string zither, and shamisen, the three-string plucked lute, and sings while accompanying herself. Her grounding is in traditional Japanese repertoire for both instruments.

In her own work she places the koto in jazz settings, playing alongside bass, drums and other jazz instrumentalists and taking improvised solos on an instrument more often heard in fixed classical arrangements. She also performs traditional pieces, and her programs often move between the two.