Yoshi’s began in 1972 as a small, North Berkeley sushi bar owned by it’s founder and namesake, Yoshie Akiba, alongside her two best friends Kaz Kajimura, a journalist and carpenter, and Hiroyuki Hori, a painter and Japanese cook. Over the next 40 years, Yoshi’s built itself into one of the world’s most respected jazz venues, earning a reputation as the Bay Area’s premier location for great Japanese cuisine and jazz music. Today, Yoshi’s is an award-winning 310-seat live performance venue with a state-of-the-art sound system and design, occupying 17,000 square feet in the heart of Oakland’s Jack London Square. Under the guidance of esteemed Artistic Director Michael Pritchard, the venue has expanded it’s focus to include broader genres suitable to a variety of musical tastes.