"If you are a jazz lover these ladies don't disappoint! Each one plays their part superbly!"

TOKYO GROOVE JYOSHI

Tokyo Groove Jyoshi (TGJ) is an All Female Jazz/Funk Groove band formed in 2018 in Tokyo by their producer Koichi Kaneko (Neko) consisting of Top Japanese session Musicians. The band’s current lineup is Emi Kanazashi (keyboards/vocals), MiMi Kawakami (drums /vocals) and Rina Hoshino (bass/vocals). This threesome powerhouse has been a cohesive unit since Sept 2020 producing a unique groove/funk sound with their originals.

TGJ strives to be a powerful groove band with music beyond the generations, genders and genres. The band went to New York in February 2020 and performed at a few jazz clubs where it was invited back for more performances when they played almost every night. Unfortunately, Covid hindered the band’s progress in 2020. Now that Covid is over, TGJ have toured all over Japan playing in Festivals and various Jazz Clubs. The band performed at the TIMM in Nov 2025 which can now be seen on YouTube. Since the appointment of an International Manager in 2023, TGJ is now considered as a very successful International Touring Band having performed all over the world. Most notable are Taiwan (Sound Wave Festival), Singapore (Sentosa Music Festival’s “Jazz by the Cove” in Dec 2023) and at the Singapore F1 Grand Prix 2025 alongside Sir Elton John, Foo Fighters, Crowded House, etc).

TGJ has also toured Australia three times (April 2024, Nov 2024 and March 2025) where they played to sold out shows in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane. TGJ played in Las Vegas 3 times too (June 2024, Dec 2024 and Sept 2025). The band played in Settle for a Charity event raising funds for a good cause in Sept 2025. The band performed in China for the first time in Aug. 2025 and will continue to tour other countries as requested by their ever growing legion of fans around the world.

TGJ has over 80 videos released on YouTube performing a mixture of originals and covers. One of their originals, “Funk No. 1” has over 26 million views! Their Tower of Power’s “What is Hip” (Twin Bass) cover has over 3 million views.

TGJ’s single, “Hot summer” was ranked No. 1 in the R&B/Soul in iTunes (Turkey 2 years ago) and their EP “Tokyo Groove” is ranked at No. 8 in R&B/Soul in iTunes (Japan).

The band’s third EP called “TGJ Grooving and Dancing” was released in January 2024 reaching No.2 in Japan and Germany in the iTunes R&B Soul category. A new Single “Dance to the Music” was released on 24th December 2023 and is proved to be a big hit in R&B/Soul Top songs on iTunes in Japan and Thailand.

The band’s latest Album, “We are TGJ” released in June 2025 was ranked 1st in the “Top R&B/Soul Albums in Singapore, 2nd in Thailand and Germany, 8th in Australia and 13th in Japan. Emi, MiMi and Rina are simply delighted with these results and would like to thank all their loyal fans for their continued support. “We hope to see you all soon” says Emi.

These ladies will delight you with their Smooth Jazz Music and Charm!

Drums/Vocals/Composer

MiMi

MiMi was born in Ishikawa. She picked up her first drum sticks at age 7, and has established herself as a multiple-award-winning drummer. Graduating from the Showa University of Music in 2019, MiMi tours & performs with a range of artists including featuring in Yoko Hamasaki’s album and “Blind Love” tour. MiMi stars in musical productions, recently performing in Toshiki Kodamatsu’s production Tokyo Syoujo.

MiMi released her first solo album “The:O” in 2020, single “Love Salt” in 2021 and recently released her follow-up album “Family” in 2022 – Self-producing lyrics, composition, arrangements, drums & vocals. MiMi has continually contributed new songs to the band with “Nevada Chill” on the band’s latest album called “We are TGJ”.

Equipment

  • Ludwig & Istanbul Agop
  • Ride cymbal
  • Istanbul Agop traditional dark 20′
  • Cymbals
  • Istanbul Agop traditional dark 16′
  • Hi-hat
  • Istanbul Agop traditional light hi-hat 14′
  • Drums set Ludwig
  • Legacy mahogany
  • 22′ 12′ 16′
  • Snare drum
  • Ludwig LM400(vintage 80’s)
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Keyboards/Vocals/Composer

Emi

Emi was born in Shizuoka, and started playing piano & electric organ as a young child. She graduated from Senzoku Gakuen College of Music with a Major in electric organ. Featuring in albums & tours of other popular artists including Daichi Hamasaki & soul band Eldolphin H.K, Emi is constantly exploring new sounds and styles. Emi composed her first song “E Funk” for  the band’s latest album called “We are TGJ”.

Emi studied under Philip Woo, Ken Kawamura, Toshitaka Shibata, Yuko Ootaki (Vocals).

She respects borderless musicians such as Cory Henry, Bob James, Stevie Wonder, Tower of Power, Sting and Alicia Keys.

Equipment

Nord Stage2 ex

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Bass/Vocals/Composer

Rina

Rina was born in Saitama, and is a second generation bassist. She started her musical journey in junior high school with clarinet, guitar & vocals. Going on to graduate from Maeserhaus and winning multiple awards, Rina has performed at multiple venues including at Ajinomoto Stadium for A-Nation.

In 2018, Rina released her first solo album “Attack!!”, closely followed by 2019’s “Aquarium” and 2020’s “ANCiENT”. She joined the band in 2020 and now performs full time with Tokyo Groove Jyoshi at over 100 live performances a year. Rina is a prolific song writer and has written quite a few for the band always something not expected in mainstream such as “Foxy”, “Copper Ravens” and then “Holic” on the latest album called “We are TGJ”

Equipment

[Bass]
  • Black Smoker Beta-P4 Experimental Blue
  • Sugi NB4IR ASH T-WH
  • Sugi NB4IR blue
  • Sugi NB6M A BM KORINA NAT
  • Greco WSB-STD,Black
  • ZEMAITIS A22B MF WAL
[AMP]
  • Orange Little Bass Thing
  • Orange OBC410&OBC115
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