Maya Tanaka Allwardt is a wide-ranging pianist based in the SF Bay Area and Chicago. Originally a concert pianist, she started training classically at the age of 3 and began exploring jazz at age 10. She went on to compete both nationally and internationally and holds 2 gold medals. She has performed with artists such as Gordon Goodwin, Wayne Bergeron, and Jiggs Whigham, and at venues such as The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (SF), Andy’s Jazz Club (Chicago), B.B. Kings (NYC), and Carnegie Hall (NYC).