Born in Japan, grew up in Tokyo, lessons of piano since she was 3 years old, later on studies of music at Tohogakuen Music University.
Started her professional career as piano player and composer, worked together with many famous Japanese musicians, founded her first own trio. Since 1978 several stays in the USA.
Many concerts and recordings with David Liebman, Lester Bowie, Joe Henderson, Cecil McBee, Sheila Jordan, Nils Henning Orsted Pedersen.
1981 first concert in Germany at Jazzfestival Berlin/Philharmonie. Intensive work with Alexander von Schlippenbach and other musicians of the European New Jazz. Many very successful project with David Murray, Tokio Stringquartet, Nobuyoshi Ino and Berlin Contemporary Orchestra. Aki Takase was playing with Maria Joao in Duo from 1988 until 1994; concerts in nearly all important international jazz festivals (Moers, Montreux, Berlin, Firenze, Perpignan, Mulhouse, Stuttgart, Molde, Oslo, Tokio, Montréal, Athen, a.o.). Im 1994 she toured with the ex-Coltrane musicians Rashed Ali and Reggie Workman, founded a septet with Japanese musicians (European tour and recording during the fall 1994, concerts at Berlin and Leverkusen Jazzfestivals), created music for a string quartet (tour with Tristan Honsinger a.o. during the fall of 1995) and continued her solo and duo (with Alexander von Schlippenbach) performances.