Aki Takase (高瀬 アキ?) (born January 26, 1948 in Osaka) is a critically acclaimed, award-winning Japanese jazz pianist and composer. Raised in Tokyo, she studied music at Tohogakuen Music University.[1] Starting in 1978, she performed and recorded in the USA with Lester Bowie, David Liebman, John Zorn and others. Since 1981, she performed repeatedly at the Berlin Jazz Festival in Germany. For many years, she has been working with her husband[2] Alexander von Schlippenbach, Eugene Chadbourne, Han Bennink, Evan Parker, Paul Lovens, Fred Frith and others, and in duets with Maria João, David Murray and Rudi Mahall. In various projects, Takase has dealt with famous jazz musicians: Ellington (1990), Monk (1994), Dolphy (1998), W.C. Handy (2002), Fats Waller (2004), O. Coleman (2006). Since 1987, she has been living in Berlin. Rudi Mahall (born 1966 in Nürnberg, Germany) is a contemporary jazz bass clarinetist. While studying classical clarinet, Mahall shifted towards contemporary music, improvisation and jazz. He is, or was a member of following bands: Avantgardeband Die Hartmann 8, Der Rote Bereich (initially comprehending Frank Möbus, Marty Cook, Jim Black und Henning Sievert), the Trio Tiefe töne für Augen und Ohren (with Sievert and Bill Elgart), Carlos Bicas Azul and Die Enttäuschung (amongst others with Axel Dörner, Jan Roder). He carried out several projects and published CDs with Aki Takase, about the work of Eric Dolphy and others. Mahall participated to Alexander von Schlippenbach's recording of the complete works of Thelonious Monk, published by a prestigious Swiss label, and he is a member of the Globe Unity Orchestra. Moreover he performed with Conny Bauer, Lee Konitz, Barry Guy, Karl Berger, Paul Lovens, Sven-Åke Johansson, Radu Malfatti, Ed Schuller, Ray Anderson, Kenny Wheeler, Hannes Bauer and many others. Mahall performed at the Free Music Festival Jazz à Mulhouse in 2008, at the Moers Festival, the JazzFest Berlin, the Leverkusener Jazztage and jazz festivals in New York City, Amsterdam, München, Würzburg, Nürnberg, and he toured in Portugal, southern and eastern Africa. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Aki+Takase+&+Rudi+Mahall">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.