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Tomoko Omura: Branches Vol. 1
by Friedrich Kunzmann
Violinists come in many shapes, colors and sizes. In jazz, there are those who bridge the gap between classical music and a more improvised repertoire seamlessly, as seen with pioneers such as American avant-gardist Mark Feldman. There are others who go about their craft with a more rootsy approach to the improvised music tradition—as heard with virtuosos like Regina Carter. And then of course there's everything in between, from old guard veterans like Stephane Grappelli (also known as ...
Continue ReadingNicholas Brust: Frozen In Time
by Dan Bilawsky
Want to hear somebody who means business? Just listen to Nicholas Brust deftly drive through Frozen In Time's opener, “Work Ahead." That initial offering on this, the alto saxophonist's full-length debut, explores the travails and triumphs of breaking into the jazz world in New York. Judging by the way Brust burns, flows and blows the doors wide open with his playing, it would seem that he is making significant inroads in that area. An Eastman and New ...
Continue ReadingTomoko Omura: Branches Vol. 1
by Nicholas F. Mondello
With Branches Vol. 1, award-winning violinist Tomoro Omura dives deep into exploring textures and melodic invention drawn from Japanese folklore. This effort is a contemporized display which validates Omura's vast instrumental abilities and also channels Japanese folklore as a launch-point for her superior composition skills. The recording is seductive, deeply emotional and meditative, and, simultaneously, elegantly refined. The album offers six tracks, each a fascinating voyage. “Moonlight in Vermont" gets such a re-imagined, polyrhythmic treatment that one ...
Continue ReadingTomoko Omura: Branches Vol. 1
by Mike Jurkovic
If, as you start to yield willingly to the sumptuous, hypnotic Branches, Vol. 1, you should need to walk away and attend to other home/bunker business, try to keep at least one ear on the music. From any point in any room you might hear a gypsy laugh, a lover cry, a Celtic reel. A marvelous new touch on a centuries old instrument, bringing the ages together, gathering all the ley lines into one bustling hub. A rising ...
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