Yukai Yang
Drummer, Yamaha Young Performing Artist, and Berklee College of Music performance major. Welcome to my corner of the internet.
About
I care about making music that feels good to play and good to hear. Trained from a young age and now at Berklee, I bring a versatile style to jazz, fusion, and contemporary settings—from stadium tours and festivals to clubs and sessions.
Bio
Yukai Yang (杨御凯) is a drummer based in Boston, MA. Born in 2004, he studied from an early age with Zhang Jiongxian and is now pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Performance at Berklee College of Music, where he holds the Berklee World Tour Scholarship and the Steve Gadd Endowed Scholarship and has received the highest performance rating.
In 2025 he won the Yamaha Young Performing Artist competition in the Jazz/Contemporary category and was named a Yamaha Young Performing Artist. The same year he received DownBeat Magazine's "Outstanding Performance" award for Jazz Soloist and was featured as the opening profile in the magazine's student awards section. His playing has been praised by drummer and educator Billy Kilson as "one of the most promising emerging drummers" and by jazz legend Tiger Okoshi as "a natural-born drummer."
Yukai leads Yukai's Fusion Quartet and has performed as featured artist at Music China (Shanghai), drummer for the 2025 CMG Spring Festival Gala (Beijing), JD 618 Summer Music Gala (Beijing), the Luzhuo "Ready To The Top" 2025 stadium tour, BIKN Shibuya 2025 (Tokyo), BlueNote Beijing with the Harry Liu Quartet, Berklee Singers Showcase, and festivals including Bubble Island, Baoji Ginkgo, Yangzhou Zaolin Bay, Ninghai Red Makeup, Donghai City, and the Asian Music Industry Festival (Boston). He has also performed with the Zhengtao Pan Jazz Orchestra, Tim Liang Quartet, and at RIVERFLOW Concert (Xi'an Conservatory of Music), among others.
Additional recognition includes the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor's Citation, City of Boston Mayor's Citation, and Boston City Council President's Citation for cultural exchange, and AMIF "Best Instrumentalist."
For collaborations, bookings, or to get in touch, visit the contact page.