Takeru Saito 

Takeru Saito
Takeru Saito 
is a jazz pianist, composer, and arranger from Fukushima, Japan. In 2014 he was awarded a scholarship both from TOMODACHI Suntory Music Scholarship Fund and Rotary Club Japan to attend Berklee College Of Music, where he studied with notable musicians including Joanne Brackeen, Darren Barrett, David Santoro, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Billy Kilson. While in school he was selected to perform at U.S.-Japan Council Annual Conference held in Tokyo, an event Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Sinzo Abe, Japanese former Prime Minister participated in. He recorded with Grammy award-winning trumpeter Darren Barrett for his project, But Beautiful “Time For Romance”, which was released in 2018. In 2022, he was chosen to perform with Manhattan School of Music Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Jack Walrath at Dizzy’s Club Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. In the same year he earned Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from Manhattan School Of Music. He has toured throughout the US as well as Japan. Currently he is based in New York, where he has been actively performing in various venues in the city.