The genesis of this group, Otonowa (Sound Circle) comes from the title a recording of the same name translated into English that was released a number of years ago in Japan on King Records and in the US on Evidence Music. The group, then, was called the “Asian American Jazz Trio.”

The concept behind this group is very much in the tradition of Jazz, truly an American art form. This group is comprised of Japanese (now US citizens) who live in the US and also Japanese Americans who were born in the US. Thus, this group is made up of Japanese and Japanese Americans musicians raised in this country, learning the jazz vocabulary in the US and retooling and reinventing songs from their native land in the jazz idiom. The group has completed a CD dedicated to and in commemoration of the tragic events in Northern Japan. All of the material on the recording are jazz interpretations of traditional Japanese folk melodies that date back as long as a century ago. The incorporation of these Japanese folk elements is part of the long tradition of American jazz artists interpreting songs of American popular and folk songs ie, Miles Davis recording, “Bye Bye Blackbird,” to John Coltrane interpreting... More Biography