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Erica Seguine/Shon Baker Orchestra: The New Day Bends Light
by Jack Bowers
The New Day Bends Light, the debut recording by the twelve-year-old Erica Seguine/Shon Baker Orchestra, is interesting on a number of levels, not the least of which is emotional. The leaders and their twenty-one piece ensemble are clearly committed to the music and do their best to breathe life into each of the album's seven numbers, three of which were written by Seguine, three by Baker and the other ("Ose Shalom") by Nurit Hirsh. Aside from that, there is the ...
Continue ReadingAndrew Green: Dime Dancing: The Music Of Steely Dan
by Mark Sullivan
It is not hard to imagine jazz versions of Steely Dan songs, as they are rich in knotty harmonies and dark lyrics that belie their mainstream pop success. But you would probably have to be guitarist Andrew Green to imagine them arranged for chamber ensembles dominated by woodwinds and strings (as well as vocalist Miriam Waks and Green's guitar). Ironically, Green's dramatic departure from the iconic recordings grew out of his love for them: he was convinced that no rock ...
Continue ReadingA Conversation with Violinist Meg Okura
by UDEiGWE
Meg Okura is a distinguished violinist/composer who has been decorated with several awards. Her latest album, Ima Ima, is a collection of well thought out and very well executed compositions that stem out of her role as a mother. Join Meg and I as we talk about composing, motherhood, David Bowie, and other somewhat related things. Ima Ima features Meg Okura on violin, vocals, and erhu; Tom Harrell on trumpet; Sam Newsome on soprano sax; Sam Sadigursky ...
Continue ReadingMeg Okura: IMA IMA
by Dan Bilawsky
Heritage isn't merely defined by blood and DNA. It's about who we are, who we choose to become, and what we take from the past to bring to our individual present and presence. So says this most personal of albums from Meg Okura & The Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble. “Ima"--the Hebrew word for “mother" and a Japanese word for “now"--stands as a three-letter summation of Okura's being with its cross-language connections and meaning. It represents her ...
Continue ReadingMeg Okura: NPO Trio - Live at the Stone
by Troy Dostert
Recorded during her week-long residency at The Stone, New York, in 2016, on NPO Trio--Live at the Stone violinist Meg Okura and her colleagues, pianist Jean-Michel Pilc and soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome, produce a captivating hour-long set of music. Newsome and Pilc have performed with Okura's Pan-Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble, and the two worked together on their 2017 duo release Magic Circle. Due to their substantial shared experience, the three musicians have an instantly-apparent rapport, with a synthetic vision that ...
Continue ReadingMeg Okura and the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble: Music of Ryuichi Sakamoto
by Neri Pollastri
Violinista originaria di Tokio, la poco più che quarantenne Meg Okura è un'apprezzata jazzista che ha lavorato con nomi di primo piano della scena statunitense. In questo curioso lavoro borderline la musicista è alla testa del suo Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble -quintetto atipico con flauto e violino accanto alla ritmica--con il quale riproporre in forma nuova le composizioni di un suo famoso connazionale--Ryuichi Sakamoto.
L'operazione risulta al termine dell'ascolto più che apprezzabile, vuoi perché i brani selezionati, ... Continue ReadingMeg Okura and the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble: Naima
by Raul d'Gama Rose
John Coltrane's original recording of “Naima" is extraordinarily beautiful, and it's possible that he never envisioned such a breathtaking version being played so many years after it had been composed. So hats off to the Japanese-born violinist and erhu player, Meg Okura, for conjuring up that version. As wave after wave of the song's melody unfolds like repeated sighs that send shivers of emotion down the spine, Okura's violin does the reverse, soaring like it has caught the draft of ...
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