16th Annual Jazz Critics Poll Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trios, Songs From My Father (Whaling City Sound) New Releases – Philip Booth (JazzTimes, Jazziz, Relix) New Releases – Andrew Gilbert (San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Classical Voice, Bay Area News Group) New Releases – Mark Holston (Jazziz, Latino) New Releases – Yoshi Kato (San Francisco … Read More
by Ron Schepper, Textura In their Best 30 Jazz Albums of 2021, Textura nods to Jalen Baker’s This Is Me, This Is Us, Jihye Lee Orchestra’s Daring Mind, Adi Meyerson’s I Want To Sing My Heart Out In Praise of Life, Adam Moezinia’s Folk Element Trio, Tomoko Omura’s Branches Vol. 2, Sam Pilnick’s The Adler … Read More
by Dave Sumner, Bandcamp “In 2015, Japanese violinist Tomoko Omura decided to arrange 10 well-known Japanese songs—a mix of old folk songs and popular modern tunes—for performance as jazz pieces on an album she would title Roots. The inspiration for the project was relatively straightforward. ‘I was looking for something I could bring to jazz,” she explains. … Read More
by Dave Sumner, Bandcamp “What’s striking about this music is the way the distinctive qualities of Japanese music and jazz are allowed to fully blossom, with their commonalities framed as bonds and their differences reconciled as counterpoints.” Read the full Best Jazz on Bandcamp article here.
By Matt Micucci, Jazziz Shizuoka-born violinist/composer Tomoko Omura’s fifth album, Branches Vol. 2, is her follow-up to last summer’s Branches Vol. 1, featuring six more of her original compositions inspired by Japanese folktales and arrangements of Japanese popular songs. Read more here.
By Ron Scheper, Textura From her 2015 release Roots to the two instalments in her Branches project, Tomoko Omura’s Japanese heritage continues to be a remarkably fertile source of inspiration, ideas, and source material for the New York-based jazz violinist. The second chapter makes for a wonderful companion to last year’s inaugural Branches volume and … Read More
By Greg Bryant, WBGO What he was diagnosing amounts to a pernicious form of marginalization, apart from the prevailing binary in most discussions of race in the United States. “The current vision of solidarity among Asian-Americans is cartoonish and blurry,” Kang argued — a fog of nostalgia and sentiment. “Everything else is the confusion of … Read More
By Morgan Enos, Grammy.com Violinist/composer Tomoko Omura’s new album, ‘Branches Vol. 2,’ splits the difference between Japanese folk songs and originals inspired by them—and it all crescendos with “Urashima Suite,” which exclusively premieres on GRAMMY.com. Read. more here.
Outside In Music Announces Branches Vol. 2, The Eagerly-Awaited Second Installment of Celebrated Violinist Tomoko Omura’s Roots Series, Out June 18, 2021 “…a gifted composer and passionate instrumentalist.” – Strings Magazine Outside in Music is thrilled to announce the release of Branches Vol. 2, the eagerly-awaited new installment in imaginative violinist-composer-arranger Tomoko Omura’s Roots series. … Read More
