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Ayumi Tanaka

Ayumi Tanaka is a Japanese pianist and composer who began playing music at the age of three, influenced by classical, and later on, Nordic improvisational musicians and her own mentor, the late Misha Alperin at the Norwegian Academy of Music where she studied from 2011 until 2016. Starting in 2018, Ayumi began collaborating with Manfred Eicher at ECM Records which culminated in her Trio’s album “Subaqueous Silence”. Currently, she is performing globally with different ensembles as well as developing her own solo music.

Ayumi Tanaka, Nduduzo Makhathini, Nicholas Payton, Butcher Brown & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
October 13, 2026

Tributes to Miles Davis, essential reissues, and compelling new releases come together in a set full of sonic adventures, surprises, and soul-searching.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Nicholas Payton, Butcher Brown “So What" A Supreme Blue (Concord Jazz) 0:16 Host talks 8:14 Nduduzo Makhathini feat. Keenan Ahrends “Umbono" The Myth We Choose (Blue Note) 9:25 Host talks 14:22 Ayumi Tanaka “Windflower" Windflower (ECM) 15:23 Billy Childs “Flamenco Sketches" ...

Album Review

Ayumi Tanaka, Thomas Morgan, Thomas Strønen: Windflower

Read "Windflower" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
September 29, 2026

Ayumi Tanaka plays with precision and spare motifs. There are no wasted notes, and her work owes much to the balance between her country of birth and the country of residence. She has a virtuosic restraint. Rhythmic structures are often flexible, non-metrical, or thin, closely mirroring the organic movements of nature. In an interview she said, “I really think that what I do is trying to learn from nature. The way we play with space is not quantifiable. I want ...

Album Review

Ayumi Tanaka, Thomas Morgan, Thomas Strønen: Windflower

Read "Windflower" reviewed by Frank Housh

by Frank Housh
August 17, 2026

Ayumi Tanaka's Windflower uses Nordic jazz's musical vocabulary against an ancient Japanese landscape, creating depth and beauty by the space left empty. Tanaka is a Japanese pianist and composer for whom Norwegian jazz feels “very personal," explaining how it “made the air feel alive." She was determined to figure out how. She moved to Norway in 2011 and earned a master's degree from the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. She augmented her studies by improvising “together with the ...

Album Review

Ayumi Tanaka, Thomas Morgan, Thomas Strønen: Windflower

Read "Windflower" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
August 6, 2026

Japanese pianist and composer Ayumi Tanaka has become a distinctive voice on the Scandinavian jazz scene since settling in Oslo. A graduate of the Norwegian Academy of Music, she has forged musical relationships with Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen and American bassist Thomas Morgan, whose intuitive rapport lies at the heart of Windflower. Following early performances at Oslo's Victoria, Nasjonal Jazzscene, the trio attracted the attention of ECM producer Manfred Eicher, leading to this debut recording. The album follows on ...

Radio & Podcasts

Ayumi Tanaka, Alan Hawkshaw, Leslie Bricusse, Franco Cerri & New Releases

by Ludovico Granvassu
November 16, 2021

We open with tributes to three artists that passed in the past few days, Alan Hawkshaw, Leslie Bricusse and Franco Cerri, before delving into new releases ranging from the straight-ahead hard-hitting energy of Pete Rodriguez to the sound (and silence) explorations of Ayumi Tanaka and her Trio.Happy listening!PlaylistBen Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Brian Bennett, Alan Hawkshaw “Name of the Game" Kpm 1000 Series: Hot Wax (KPM) 0:16 Host talks ...