Sumi Tonooka
Sumi Tonooka (pronounced To-NO-ka) has been called a “fierce and fascinating composer and pianist” (Jazz Times), “provocative and compelling” (New York Times), and “continually inventive, original, surprising, and a total delight,” (Cuadranos de Jazz, Madrid).
During a career spanning more than 30 years that has taken her from bases in Philadelphia & Boston, to New York & Seattle, Tonooka has been developing a body of work that surprises and delights audiences - quietly piling up accolades from jazz writers and fellow musicians.
In 2013, the American Composers Orchestra and The Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University, in cooperation with EarShot, the National Orchestra Composition Discover Network, presented Tonooka's first work for symphony ochestra as part of the second Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute (JCOI) Readings.
In her most recent solo recording, NOW, Tonooka covers a lot of stylistic territory in a perfectly sequenced show, and plays with a rare spirituality and musical sagacity. A superb solo piano outing (All About Jazz). Her 2009 recording, Initiation (2009 ARC Records, with tenor saxophonist Erica Lindsay), garnered an “Honorable Mention” in the 2010 Village Voice Jazz Critic’s Poll. Recording often in trio or quartet with such noted jazz stalwarts as bassist Rufus Reid and drummers Akira Tana and Lewis Nash, Tonooka characteristically blends her own compositions with highly personal readings of jazz standards.
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Album Review
- NOW: Solo Live at the Howland Cultural Center by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
- Now by Dan McClenaghan
- Initiation by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
- Long Ago Today by David Adler
- Long Ago Today by Michael P. Gladstone
- Long Ago Today by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
March 01, 2011
Jazz Bridge Presents Sumi Tonooka at the Unitarian Universalist Church...
March 29, 2008
Jazz Pianist Sumi Tonooka's Long Ago Today Released on Artists...
June 07, 2007
Sumi Tonooka with Rufus Reid Quintet at the Lincoln Center June 18
October 01, 2005
Free program at Bard features 'ASR Records Artists the Erica...
September 30, 2005
Free program at Bard features 'ASR Records Artists the Erica...
July 20, 2005
Her best to date, and a highly recommended recording, it seems Tonooka is still tapping potential while refining her search techniques on this very satisfying and enjoyable effort. - Michael G. Nastos, **** 4 STARS - All Music Guide
Tonooka's music is beautifully conceived and enthralling; a constant joy that will hopefully be followed up more often. - Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz
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