Hina Oikawa

Hina Oikawa is a saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and tanka poet born and raised in Japan, now based in Queens, NY. Her primary projects integrate the expressive rhythm of Japanese poetry with large-ensemble jazz composition. In addition to leading her own ensembles, she has performed in programs presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center and at venues including the Jazz Gallery, Drom, Symphony Space, and Ornithology jazz club, establishing herself as a distinctive voice in the city’s vibrant jazz scene.

As the leader of her own ensemble, the Hina Oikawa Short Songs Band, she presented her original project Short Songs at Culture Lab LIC in February 2025 — a program uniting Japanese poetic tradition and modern jazz expression.

A graduate of Queens College, City University of New York, where she received the Marvin Hamlisch Award for Outstanding Arranger, Oikawa continues to compose and perform across the U.S. and Japan, dedicated to building bridges between artistic disciplines and cultural identities.

Hina Oikawa is an endorsing artist for D’Addario Woodwinds and Bullseye Enterprise (Liguature)