Credits:

Ayumi Tanaka Trio

Description:

Ayumi Tanaka, a pianist/composer who has been attracting attention in the Scandinavian jazz scene, finally releases her first ECM leader album, becoming the third Japanese after Masaaki Kikuchi and Shinya Fukumori to release a jazz leader album through ECM! Tanaka, who moved to Oslo in 2011 to study jazz and improvised music at the Norwegian National Conservatory of Music, studied with the late Misha Alperin, and in 2013 joined young bassist Kristian Meos Svendsen and six-time Norwegian Grammy Award-winning drummer After meeting Pär Oddvar Johansen, they formed the Ayumi Tanaka Trio, which debuted with the album "Memento" in 2016. The trio toured Japan in the same year, and this is their second album in the five years since then. Following on from the previous album, this work is a continuation of the trio's efforts to create a unique piano trio sound, using the instrumentation of a traditional jazz piano trio but treating it like a chamber music ensemble. An awareness of "silence and the power of a single note" is one of the things that Tanaka values in his musical expression. Just as traditional Japanese music has been closely connected to nature, Tanaka hopes to create music that can harmonize with the sounds found in nature.This work was recorded in 2019 at the Victoria jazz club in Oslo. Four of the seven songs are original compositions written by Tanaka in 2017, but the songs were perfected as the trio performed them over the two years before this album was recorded. In addition, three improvisations are included. The songs on the album were conceived for the members, and were created with the intention of giving each a margin of free interpretation, while at the same time strongly indicating the direction in which the music should head. When actually performing the music, the band members focus on each other's sound in each moment, and together they value the creation of a single piece of music. Tanaka says, "I want people to experience the power of life that pervades in stillness, just as water does." The sound that Tanaka creates is a remarkable work that can only come from ECM, which continues to create "the most beautiful sound next to silence. This is a remarkable work that can only come from ECM, a company that continues to create "beautiful sounds next to silence. Ayumi Tanaka (p), Christian Meos Svendsen (b), Per Oddvar Johansen (ds) Recorded at the National Jazz Scene Victoria, Oslo, June 2019 *This product will be available for sale on Friday, so products will be delivered after the day of release.