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Tomoko Omura: Post Bop Gypsies
by Dan Bilawsky
Think about your favorite jazz violinist. Now think about what style or sub-category of jazz that person would most easily fall into. Was your answer bebop? Probably not, I would venture to guess. It's not that I know your answer. This isn't a magic trick. For all I know it could've been Stéphane Grappelli, Jenny Scheinman, Ray Nance, Zbigniew Seifert, Christian Howes, Jean-Luc Ponty, Sara Caswell, Stuff Smith, or any number of other fine artists from years past or times ...
read moreTomoko Omura: Roots And Branches
by Ian Patterson
It's been a good year for New York-based, Japanese violinist/composer Tomoko Omura, whose second CD as leader, Roots (Inner Circle Music), has earned high praise from critics and peers alike. The roots of the title refer to Omura's heritage as she reimagines popular Japanese tunes through the prism of jazz. The ten tracks draw inspiration from film themes, folk tunes and even the national anthem-- material familiar to and beloved of successive generations of Japanese. Yet Omura's idiom is pure ...
read moreTomoko Omura: Roots
by Mark F. Turner
Chosen as one of 2015's “Rising Stars" in Downbeat magazine's critics poll, violinist Tomoko Omura's Roots is evidence that some of the most alluring music is that which combines disparate locales and cultures. The artistic fusion of songs from her homeland in Japan with verdant progressive jazz is presented by Omura and her top flight group as they produce music that ardently reflects both worlds. Originally from Shizuoka, Japan, the New York violinist revisions pop and folk ...
read moreTomoko Omura: Roots
by Ian Patterson
The roots of the title of violinist Tomoko Omura's second CD as leader refer to traditional and popular melodies familiar to several generations of Japanese. But if the melodies of Omura's childhood have left an indelible stamp on her musical DNA, so too has the past decade spent in America absorbing the roots of jazz. It's been six years since Visions (Self Produced, 2008), Omura's homage to jazz violin greats past and present, but the wait has been worth it; ...
read moreTomoko Omura: Roots
by Dan Bilawsky
Japanese violinist Tomoko Omura may be ten years into a stay in the United States, but Roots clearly demonstrates that she hasn't forgotten or forsaken her homeland. Omura left Japan and relocated to the United States in 2004, eager and ready to study at Boston's Berklee College of Music. Shortly after graduating in 2007, she released her debut--Visions (Self Produced, 2008)--which focused on original compositions. She moved once more in 2010, adopting the thriving jazz borough of ...
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