Yoko Miwa, jazz pianist, Yamaha artist, represented Ellora Management Inc., photographed at Yamaha Artists Services, 8/19/2020. Photo by Chris
07 Feb

[ February the 12th, 2021 release via Ubuntu Music: Yoko Miwa Trio – Songs of Joy ]

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release date: 12.02.2021 via Ubuntu Music

“Songs of Joy is an enthralling body of work that will become an important release for the year ahead.” – Andrew Read, Jazz in Europe

4-stars “Miwa approaches ‘Freedom’ with a McCoy Tyner-like muscularity, backed by the dense rhythmic back drop from bassist Will Slater and drummer Scott Goulding. It is a powerhouse, all-things-possible sound, spiritual and temporal at the same time.” Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

“This album is yet another triumph from one of America’s finest jazz pianists, composers, and bandleaders.” – Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist

“Yoko Miwa has been gifted with both extraordinary musical skills and the pure spirit that is necessary for great art. We love her musical gifts and her beautiful spirit as well.” – Ahmad Jamal

“The group dynamic bounces with joy… Oscar Peterson and Benny Green come to mind stylistically, with Miwa’s always engaging melodies dancing around propulsive rhythms.” – Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

“Miwa is a virtuoso pianist with dazzling technique always in the service of interaction and exchange of ideas.” – Donald Elfman, NYC Jazz Record

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ICP 66
02 Feb

[ NCP: February 2021 UPDATE: Komen & Gaan (ICP066)]

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(ICP 066) ICP Septet + Joris Roelofs + Terrie Ex & Gaan – Komen & Gaan is available on CD. 

It would be hard to overestimate the importance of the ICP Orchestra to the development of European improvised music…t’s hard to overestimate how the orchestra symbolizes and represents modern Dutch music abroad—music that’s brainy, limber, well-executed, serio-comic, and maybe a wee bit theatrical (Kevin Whitehead, January 2020, Fresh Air, NPR).

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10 Jan

[ January the 22nd, 2021 release via Libra Records: Satoko Fujji & Taiko Saito Futari – Beyond ]

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release date: 22.01.2021 via Libra Records

“Persistent and inexhaustible imagination with emotion, power and everything else…[Fujii] does not leave a single second to be bored or indifferent.” – Phontas Troussas, Vinylmine

“Taiko not only displayed exceptional technique, but more importantly she projected her own voice on an instrument that dares one to uncover . . . even more impressive was her daring to dive in some uncharted waters which she glided through with ease.”—Mike Mainieri, vibraphonist

Beyond, the recorded debut of Futari, a duo of pianist-composer Satoko Fujii and vibraphonist Taiko Saito, features lyrical intensity from two fearless explorers of new sounds. The combination of piano and vibes is an uncommon one, but Fujii and Saito navigate the new terrain of their collaboration with imagination and a spirit of adventure.

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Cover_Mantle
06 Nov

[ November the 6th,2020 release via Not Two Records: Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura & Ramon Lopez – Mantle ]

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release date: 6.11.2020 via NOT TWO records

 “Over the decades, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii has demonstrated uncanny power and musicality as a considerable force in the avant-garde end of the jazz spectrum.”— Josef Woodard, DownBeat

“Lopez does a fine job of fusing genres and styles while dispelling those old rumors that drums are not musical instruments.” — Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz

“…Tamura’s trumpet is lyrically beautiful and commanding.” ― Andy Hamilton, Wire

On their debut release, Mantle , pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, and drummer Ramon Lopez challenged themselves. Working together for the first time as a trio, they not only developed themselves into a working ensemble, but they wrote music that explored the potential of the group, each piece pushing and inspiring them in a different way. The result is an album of unfailing surprise and invention played by a group that listens closely and responds to one another on a deep intuitive level.

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Pentas cover
05 Nov

[ November the 6th,2020 release via Not Two Records: Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura – Pentas ]

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release date: 6.11.2020 via NOT TWO records

They “…draw deeply from a seeming perpetual wellspring of inspiration…. The bare bones instrumentation allows full appreciation of their virtues: inventive composerly craft; prodigious improvising prowess; a taut balance between melody and mayhem; and individual excursions which confirm the parameters of the charts as stimulating rather than limiting factors.”  – John Sharpe, Point of Departure

“It’s rare to sense this level of intuition between musicians…” —Kurt Gottschalk, New York City Jazz Record

“Fujii and Tamura offer unsentimental beauty, space, silence and humour… Proof that improvised music can be emotionally engaging as well as ear tickling…” ― Peter Marsh, BBC Music Magazine

Pentas marks another milestone in Fujii and Tamura’s remarkable 23-year history as one of the most celebrated duos in contemporary improvised music. The new CD is among their most lyrical and polished, without sacrificing the exploratory invention and spontaneity that marks their best playing. 

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Cover_Hersch_Songs_from_Home
04 Nov

[ November the 6th, 2020 release via Palmetto Records: Fred Hersch – Songs from Home ]

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release date: 06.11.2020 via Palmetto Records

“Ever since I heard Fred Hersch for the first time, he not only became a dear friend but a true idol. His piano playing, his music making, his breath, style, sound and soul are absolutely unique. He sets music free. He speaks directly to all of our hearts. A true Mensch at work. Fred Hersch is a gift to all of us and Songs From Home is another proof of this simple and yet essential truth.”
– Igor Levit, celebrated concert pianist

“When it comes to the art of solo piano in jazz, there are currently two classes of performers: Fred Hersch and everybody else.” – Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz

On Songs From Home, Hersch explores nostalgic pop songs, heartfelt originals and resonant jazz classics with his inimitable expressiveness and rich invention in the intimacy of imposed isolation

 

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dtfp
03 Nov

[ IMPORTANT(please share) !!! DEEP TONES FOR PEACE presents DEEP TONES FOR CHANGE – A RELAY FOR PEACE ]

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With the election so close, the division so fractious and potentially explosive, we feel a special event is needed for the public on Election Day. On November 3, ​Deep Tones for Change​ will transmit 4 performances each hour, spanning the 17 hours that US polls are open nationwide, from the East Coast to Hawaii – 68 individual performances!

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Live_at_BPC 300dpi
03 Nov

[ November the 6th release via JCA Recs: Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra – Live at the BPC ]

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release date: 06.11.2020

“This is music for mind and soul.” —Montreal Gazette

“… the JCAO seamlessly moved from composition to improvisation, chordal improvisation to free extemporization, wide-open structure to well-ordered chaos. The music was daring but incredibly disciplined. Even in their wildest abandon, every musician demonstrated self-control in the service of expression and musical goals larger than themselves.” – Aesthetic, Not Anesthetic

Since 1985, the Boston-based Jazz Composers Alliance has presented creative, cutting-edge work by member composers both in concert and on recordings. On Friday, November 6 the group releases its genre-bending eleventh album – The JCA Orchestra Live at the BPC – showcasing four master jazz composers working at the top of their game: David Harris, Darrell Katz, Bob Pilkington and Mimi Rabson.

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