Keiko Matsui

Keiko Matsui (松居慶子), born in Tokyo as Keiko Doi on July 26, 1961, is a Japanese smooth jazz/new age pianist and composer whose music and sophisticated elegance have propelled her to success and established a cult following among her fans. A prolific recording artist, Matsui's career spans three decades, during which time she has released twenty CDs (in addition to various compilations) and has received international acclaim.

Matsui's music is powerful and introspective, blending both western and eastern musical influences. She has a very spiritual view of composing music, feeling out each composition as though it were, in her words, "coming to me from another space, another dimension," and "catching notes from the silence and then simply placing them together". Matsui sees music as "the great gifts from the human souls from the past, for the children of the future". She believes that music has a power to bring people together and change their lives. "We are connected by music," Matsui wrote, "as the Ocean connects the continents".