Kurena Ishikawa
Biography Kurena Ishikawa
Kurena Ishikawa
Born in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Kurena picked up the upright bass in the summer of her first year of high school, and while still a student was discovered by world-renowned pianist Makoto Ozone.
She went on to study bass under Yosuke Inoue and Ken Kaneko at Kunitachi College of Music’s jazz program, where Ozone himself taught. In 2021, a video of her performance of Michael Jackson’s “Off The Wall,” recorded at Cotton Club in Marunouchi, Tokyo, surpassed 2.5 million views on YouTube, bringing her sudden widespread attention.
In March 2023, produced by Makoto Ozone, she made her major-label debut with her first album, “Kurena,” on the legendary jazz label Verve Records, and sold out her release live show at Cotton Club in Marunouchi that June. Alongside her solo work, she formed the pop duo “soraya” with pianist Kento Tsubosaka in 2022; the duo reached No. 6 on J-WAVE’s “TOKYO HOT 100” chart, performed at FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL in 2024, and has released two albums to date, establishing Kurena as a rising presence in the pop field as well. She has continued her international momentum, performing solo in Hong Kong and China in 2025, and with soraya in Taiwan and Hong Kong in 2026.
