Ai Murakami Born in Oita, Japan. Ms. Ai Murakami attracted to Taiko (Japanese drum) at the age of 4 by attending local summer festival. She started playing drums when she was a high school student. She started her professional career while she was in Waseda University. She moved to NY in 1998. She quickly met like-minded musicians and she has been dedicated to pursue her musical achievement. She studied privately with Leroy Williams, Billy Kaye, Mark Taylor, Tim Pleasant. Since she moved to NY, she has worked at many jazz nightclubs including, Smalls, Fat Cat, Swing46, Smoke and she lead her own trio at various venues. She also worked for many private parties and weddings. She has been lucky to perform with legendary pianist Gil Coggins, Kent Glenn, Danny Hayes, Zaid Nasser, Dwayne Clemmons, Sacha Perry among others.