Jazz Articles about Meg Okura

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Meg Okura: IMA IMA

by Dan Bilawsky
June 18, 2018

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 ...

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Meg Okura: NPO Trio - Live at the Stone

by Troy Dostert
May 10, 2018

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 ...

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Meg Okura and the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble: Music of Ryuichi Sakamoto

by Neri Pollastri
December 24, 2014

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, ...

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Meg Okura and the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble: Naima

by Raul d'Gama Rose
November 6, 2010

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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Meg Okura: Naima

by Dan Bilawsky
July 6, 2010

Chamber jazz is often a misunderstood label and balance is to blame for it. Classical-leaning projects bearing this descriptor often lack passion and strong improvisational elements, but jazz artists who try to play swinging takes on pieces by J.S. Bach also miss the mark. Fortunately, violinist Meg Okura avoids these potential pitfalls and manages to find balance where others have failed. Okura, and her Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble, place strong solos within brilliantly written, formalized musical dwellings on Naima. ...

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Meg Okura: Naima

by Dan McClenaghan
June 27, 2010

Naima is the name of one of saxophonist John Coltrane's more famous compositions. It's also the name of Japanese violinist Meg Okura's CD release. Joined by her nine-piece Pan Asian Jazz Ensemble, Okura has honed a finely-crafted set of chamber jazz, with all players being equals, and all players getting their chances to play the melody, and to improvise.Coltrane might seem an unlikely vehicle for a string player, if you haven't heard the Turtle Island String Quartet dig ...

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Take Five with Meg Okura

by AAJ Staff
June 2, 2010

Meet Meg Okura:Hailed by The Guardian as “improvisational virtuosity," Meg Okura is “equally comfortable playing classical chamber music, rock and everything in between," (The New York Times). She is the founder and the leader of the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble, and has won numerous grants and awards as a composer. A native of Japan, Meg toured as the concertmaster and the soloist with the Asian Youth Orchestra and made her Kennedy Center ...