Megumi Yonezawa/Ken Kobayashi/Evan Crane
Pianist, Megumi Yonezawa and Drummer, Ken Kobayashi released, DOWNBEAT 4star rated album, “Boundary” via ESP-Disk’ in 2018. It features 10 improvisations by the trio. This album has been distributing all over the world, their freedom, creative, poetic performance in this album received highly acclaims from many critics worldwide.
Megumi Yonezawa earned multiple awards while studying performance and composition at Berklee College of music, then became the regular pianist for saxophonist Greg Osby on Jason Moran's recommendation. Yonezawa had countless performance experiences with him at prominent clubs and festivals such as the Village Vanguard, Carnegie Hall, Montreal Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, Rochester International Jazz Festival and Trondheim JazzFest. She played on Greg Osby’s Blue Note Records album “Public”. The album features Nicholas Payton, Robert Hurst, Rodney Green and Joan Osborne. Other credits include work with David Liebman, George Garzone, Sam Newsome, and many more. In 2016 the Fresh Sound New Talent label released her debut album as leader, A Result of the Colors. None of these credits, however, reflect pure freedom with which she plays on “Boundary”.
Ken Kobayashi is a jazz based drummer, living and active in New York. Kobayashi has been playing among the various venues in NYC such as Kavehaz, Cleopatra’s Needle, Smalls, Smoke, Garage Restaurant, Tomi Jazz, Jazz at Kitano, Cafe Bohemia and Rockwood Music Hall. He has played with Anthony Coleman, Elliott Levin, Dan Nimmer (Wynton Marsalis Quartet), Tomas Morgan (Bill Frisell Band) and many others. He has recently challenged to review his music through the various collaborations including visual based artists. He also exploits his creative style with contemporary jazz, free jazz, latin music, eastern European music, Arabic music and electronics sounds for developing his original works.
Bassist, Evan Crane will join in this performance. After studied Jazz performance at the Berklee College of music and New York University, he has been involving in many Jazz projects in New York. Nowadays, he is much sought after by many musicians to perform with them in the Brooklyn improvisation scene.
Press quote about album “Boundary”
“Throughout the recording, the group operates with exquisite patience, pushing the music forward with tender consideration, primarily driven by Yonezawa’s unsentimental lyricism and effective use of space—recalling the sound-spreading brilliance of Paul Bley.” - Peter Margasak, DOWNBEAT
“Use space and silence to riveting effect on nine originals and the standard ‘I’ll Be Seeing You.’ But like her country mate Satoko Fujii, Yonezawa can shock, occasionally sending shards and clusters exploding from the keyboard.”- Derk Richardson, The Absolute Sound
“Integrity, freedom, and an extraordinary improvisational facility are part of the group’s philosophy, and Boundary proves their individual and collective value in the process of creating spontaneously from predetermined ideas.” - jazztrail.net
Megumi Yonezawa
https://www.megumiyonezawa.com/
Ken Kobayashi
More info for album “Boundary” on ESP-Disk’ website
http://www.espdisk.com/5023.html