Jazz is often associated with music that oscillates between swing, big band, and smooth jazz. Or “something with a saxophone”—meaning intense, atonal solos that pierce the ears. Ayumi Tanaka, Thomas Morgan, and Thomas Strønen have a very different understanding of jazz. On their new album, *Windflower*, there is no saxophone, nor is there any swing. Instead, it offers a journey of discovery through sound.
The compositions by Tanaka, Morgan, and Strønen transport the listener into timelessness, into an open sphere of sound and response that moves between planes like waves on the surface of the sea—sometimes more relaxed, sometimes animated and dynamic, each on its own, and yet all forming a single unity.
With the exception of “Driftwood,” which draws on classical forms and serves as a sort of buoy in the current, the tracks are often open-ended, even at the end—as if they wanted to leave question marks behind rather than resolve chords or follow other musical conventions.
Nevertheless, the trio does not forgo melodiousness. The opening track, “Windflower,” is carried by a very delicate theme throughout its 4:44 minutes. “La Source,” on the other hand, is like a steady interplay of impulse and response between bass, piano, and drums. “From Us, To You” flows densely and intensely from the speakers, which makes the tranquility of the following “Tree of Stars” all the more striking.
The recording gives the three musicians plenty of space. The listener sits on the front edge of the stage, with the grand piano in front, the bass to the right behind it, and the drums to the left, extending all the way to the center. These are realistic dimensions, authentic in their spatial layout and equally so in their sound, which comes across as completely natural—whether through speakers or headphones.
*Windflower* is an interesting album that fully explores the possibilities of jazz and seems to revel in them.
An exciting recording. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)
Ayumi Tanaka, piano
Thomas Morgan, double bass
Thomas Strønen, drums
Recorded May 2025, Studios La Buissonne, Pernes les Fontaines
Photo: ©Ristin Maagero Johannesen