Paul Yonemura is a San Francisco Bay Area native and a longtime performer/educator. He has played with Michael Wolff, John Handy, Art Van Damme, Sunny Wilkinson, Cathy Segal-Garcia, Julie Kelly, Ed Kelly, Don Piestrup Big Band, Full Faith and Credit Big Band, Jimmy Heath, Chris Vadala, Dr. Ron Odrich, Mary Fettig, Helen O'Connell, Wayne Wallace, The Modernaires, Laura Dreyer, Jamie Davis, and many others. 

As a teacher, he taught privately and in the public schools over a time span of four decades. Many of his groups were critically acclaimed, including his wind bands and jazz bands.  He also holds the distinction of teaching instrumental music at every level, elementary, middle school, high school, and college. In retirement from education, he continues to work with students as a jazz clinician and jazz festival judge.

Yonemura continues to be active, leading his own trio, quartet, and quintet at local clubs, house concerts, and as part of music festivals in the SF Bay Area. He made his recording debut in 1985 with First Flight Home and has had a regular presence on jazz radio since 2015, with five releases on Girod Records. One of his recordings, Kindred Spirits made the first ballot of the 2017 Grammy nominations.

Recently, two of his compositions have been arranged for big band, One For Jack/arranged by Neal Finn and NYC/Barnard-1966/arranged by Erik Jekabson. NYC/Barnard-1966 debuted in a recent concert with the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra at the Jazzschool in Berkeley.

Photo: Lonnol Bay