Ariyo

Since he first arrived in Chicago in 1984, I have seen Mr. Ariyoshi in performance in blues venues all over the city. Mr. Ariyoshi has been hired as a regular pianist by several Chicago blues artists of international stature: these include guitarist Jimmy Rogers, who was one of Muddy Waters' earliest Chicago colleagues and played a significant role in forging what is now known as the postwar Chicago blues style; and guitarist Otis Rush, who was seminal in the development of the electrified, musically aggressive late-50s, early-60s Chicago style.

On a regular basis, he shares engagements with veteran keyboardists like Pinetop Perkins and Detroit Jr., demonstrating the similarity between his style and theirs while also showing how his unique rhythmic sensibility and innovative approach toward both timing and melodic structure bring fresh and contemporary new textures to the tradition these elder statesmen represent. To lose his presence in the Chicago blues world would be to leave a serious gap in the ongoing continuum of this city's blues piano heritage, from the roots to the future.

Currently he’s the pianist in Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues