"The technically brilliant trio opened with the evergreen “I Hear A Rhapsody”, before the gutsy and sensitive Sumi Tonooka dug into the keys, presenting two spell-binding original compositions: the ballad-like “Shadow Waltz” and the grooving “Taking Time”. . . . Both with very exacting titles such as “Evidence” by Thelonius Monk, and well-known pieces like “Night and Day”, this high-class trio secured its position in the highest echelon through its unusually quick rapport, arrangements that shed new light on standards, and virtuosic improvisations. . . . A genuine live experience of the highest magnitude!" – Gustav Sigg "Revelatory . . . reminds you that originality is possible. She’s made her phrasing and touch personal; her lines breathe. . . . Her compositions . . . are rock solid without a moment of indecision or mistake. Technique is mastered by imagination, inspiration by intellect. She comes to her own conclusions, which is what jazz is all about." – Peter Watrous, Musician Magazine "Tonooka . . . opened her set with a crackling interpretation of Thelonius Monk’s “Eronel.” The dispatch with which Tonooka negotiated Monk’s precipitous lines left no doubt that she is among the best of today’s jazz pianists. . . . At no time did Tonooka sound like a piano solist accompanied by bass and drums. The three instruments were fully interactive. . . . A brilliant performance." – The New York Times |
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With Rufus Reid (bass) and Lewis Nash (drums). Joken Records, 1998. Play Secret Places Play Never Again Play Samples of the entire album Songs in this album are: 1. Susumu 2. Secret Places 3. Over the Rainbow 4. Waking Time 5. 'Round Midnight 6. Beginning Again 7. Tempus Fugit 8. Never Again 9. Phantom Carousel  Purchase this CD at Sumi's website | | For the first time ever on CD With Sumi Tonooka (piano), Rufus Reid (bass) and Akira Tana (drums). Play Spur of the Moment Play With An Open Heart Play Samples of the entire album Songs on this album are: 1. Subterranean Dream 2. It's About Time 3. Now That I Know 4. Spur of the Moment 5. Phantom Carousel 6. Bittersweet 7. With You 8. With An Open Heart 9. How Can This Be |
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Play Giant Steps Play In The Void Play Samples of the entire album Songs on this album are: 1. Giant Steps (John Coltrane) 2. It Must Be Real (Sumi Tonooka) 3. At Home (Sumi Tonooka) 4. In the Void (Sumi Tonooka) 5. Warm Valley (Duke Ellington) 6. Upper Manhattan Medical Group (Billy Strayhorn) 7. The Mystery (Sumi Tonooka) 8. Here Comes Kai (Sumi Tonooka) | | Play Seriously Speaking Play Out Of The Silence Play Samples of the entire album Songs on this album are: 1. Taking Time (Sumi Tonooka) 2. Yours and Mine (Sumi Tonooka) 3. Seriously Speaking (Sumi Tonooka) 4. Shadow Waltz (Sumi Tonooka) 5. Night and Day (Cole Porter) 6. Out of the Silence (Sumi Tonooka) 7. Station Levitation (Sumi Tonooka) 8. In the Night (Sumi Tonooka) 9. One for Mary Lou (Sumi Tonooka) |
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John Blake, Jr. (violin) and Sumi Tonooka (piano). Play I Hear a Rhapsody Play Parisienne Thoroughfare Play Samples of the entire album Songs on this album are: 1. I Hear a Rhapsody 2. Susumu 3. Isfahan 4. Evidence 5. Song for Abdullah 6. Maiden Dance 7. Over the Rainbow 8. Just Friends 9. Parisienne Thoroughfare Purchase this album at Sumi Tonooka's website | ||
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| More about Sumi Tonooka
Noted jazz critic Francis Davis, one of the first to recognize her as an extraordinary talent, placed Sumi Tonooka "among the best of today's young pianists." During a career now spanning more than 20 years, Sumi Tonooka has been surprising and delighting audiences — and quietly piling up accolades from jazz writers and her fellow musicians. Working in trio or quartet with such noted jazz stalwarts as bassist Rufus Reid and drummers Akira Tana and Lewis Nash, Tonooka's recordings characteristically blend her own compositions with highly personal readings of jazz standards. Her first professional stint at age 18 was with the Philly Joe Jones quartet, Le Grand Prix. From there she went on to perform with such luminaries as Kenny Burrell, Little Jimmy Scott, Sonny Fortune, Red Rodney, Benny Golson and David Fathead Newman. Ms. Tonooka holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Philadelphia College of Performing Arts. She studied piano with Bernard Peiffer, Susan Starr, Mary Lou Williams, and Stanley Cowell, and received additional training in piano and composition from Madame Margaret Chaloff of the New England Conservatory of Music. In addition to her jazz recording and performing, she has composed for film and dance. Japanese-American and African-American by background, Sumi Tonooka has also broken new ground in her extended compositions blending Japanese musical instrumentation with jazz. Her 1988 work, "Out from the Silence," for koto, shakuhachi, and jazz ensemble, was commissioned by the Japanese-American Citizens League to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the World War II–era internment of Japanese-Americans. JazzTimes called the music "spellbinding." In 1993 a commission from Meet the Composer and an NEA Jazz Fellowship enabled Ms. Tonooka to continue exploring new musical territory combining Eastern and Western musical idioms. In December, 1993, this led to the New York premiere of the Taiko Jazz Project, wherein 8 interrelated pieces based on the I Ching were scored to feature taiko master Kenny Endo, together with some of the most highly respected players in jazz. Since then, the Taiko Jazz Project has appeared on both coasts in trio and sextet aggregations. Tonooka's career has been chronicled on several highly regarded jazz books, including Living The Jazz Life by Royal Stokes, ln The Moment by Francis Davis, and Madamme Jazz by Leslie Gourse (all on Oxford University Press). She now divides her time between composing, teaching, and performing for an increasingly widespread audience of jazz aficionados who have discovered her wide ranging talents. Visit Sumi's website |