Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Osmo (2026) [Hi-Res]

The Japanese pianist and composer Makiko Hirabayashi, who has lived in Copenhagen since 1990, has been regarded since her 2006 debut album as a striking and individual voice in Danish and international jazz. She has toured Europe and Asia with her own trio (bassist Klavs Hovman and drummer-percussionist Marilyn Mazur), with the quartet Weavers (Fredrik Lundin, Thommy Andersson, Bjørn Heebøll), and in projects led by European musicians, and she also plays solo concerts, among them a notable appearance at Voss Jazzklubb on April 19, 2023. Her partner in the new duo is percussionist, drummer and composer Tomoo Nagai (b. 1975, Shizuoka), a graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts who explores improvisation across genres, builds his own instruments and plays solo concerts. The two met on April 19, 2025, while Hirabayashi was visiting Japan, at the Onomoto Wooden Auditorium in Nishiaizu, Fukushima, and recorded eleven pieces: six by her and five composed together. Four of them form the “Fukushima Suite,” and the rest stand alone. The opener “Osmosis” is a freer, more experimental take on Carla Bley’s “Ida Lupino.” “Tanuki” is rhythmic and closer to the American tradition with Japanese traits, “Gallop” pulls Hirabayashi toward collective experimentation, and “Birds Assending” is more lyrical. On this recording Hirabayashi sounds closer to her homeland and to experiment than before, yet the experience of the “straight” jazz of Copenhagen clubs still shows through. Nagai’s attentive percussion, infused with Japanese ideas, makes the album a brilliant duo work.

Tracklist:
1. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Osmosis
2. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Tanuki
3. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Gallop
4. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Birds Ascending
5. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Stones Adrift in Silence 1
6. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Midnight Bells
7. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Beneath the Seabed
8. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Kitsune
9. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - The Invisible
10. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Circular
11. Makiko Hirabayashi, Tomoo Nagai - Stones Adrift in Silence 2