Rintaro Mikami

Born in Tokyo, Rintaro Mikami is a drummer and composer based in New York. Centered on contemporary jazz, his work spans a wide range of genres, from traditional jazz to pop and experimental, allowing him to perform across diverse musical scenes. Known for his expressive versatility that draws out the full tonal potential of his instrument, as well as his extensive vocabulary of musical phrases, he has earned strong trust in a variety of performance settings.

Scheduled for release on November 6, 2026, Cosmolamps, Rintaro Mikami’s second album as a bandleader, features some of the leading figures in the contemporary jazz scene, including Jon Cowherd, performing a collection of original compositions that are both philosophical and rich in vivid imagery. His debut album First Fish(2023), comprising nine original compositions, was inspired by his childhood experiences living on a small island in south Japan. The ensemble, featuring lyrical compositions and carefully nuanced, sensitive drumming, received critical acclaim both in the United States and Japan. In October of the same year, he successfully held a recording release concert at the renowned New York venue Nublu 151. The music video for the title track “First Fish” won Best Jazz Song and Best Lyrics awards at the 18th Munich Music Video Awards. In September 2025, he launched “Shima Jazz: First Fish Project,” a performance initiative on small islands, which was successfully carried out with the support of the Tanegashima Space Art Festival.

As a sideman, Mikami has performed at leading New York jazz venues such as Ornithology Jazz Club, The Django, Nublu 151, and Terraza 7, while also participating in numerous bands and projects both in Japan and abroad. He has collaborated with many musicians, including Jon Cowherd, Davis Whitfield, Takuya Kuroda, Simón Willson, Neta Raanan, Steve Ash and more.

In 2025, he joined the dream pop band Bubble Tea and Cigarettes as a support drummer for their We Should’ve Loved Each Other World Tour 2025. He is also a member of “Meadowlands,” an electronic duo project led by bassist Sean Hannon.

In February 2023, he participated as a percussionist in the U.S. tour of Slovak singer Ester Wiesnerova. He is also active as a member of the Carlin Lee Wind Symphony Project, performing with the Eastern Wind Symphony Orchestra in February 2024. In addition, he has contributed to recordings by various artists, including Lily Blu and Aki Gorai.

Since 2020, he has been an endorsed artist of Canopus Drums.