Sumi Tonooka 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 and Boston, to New York and Seattle, Tonooka has been developing a body of work that surprises and delights audiences, while 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 Orchestra as part of the second Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute (JCOI) Readings. ...
read more
Sumi Tonooka 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 and Boston, to New York and Seattle, Tonooka has been developing a body of work that surprises and delights audiences, while 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 Orchestra 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,” garnered an Honorable Mention in the 2010 Village Voice Jazz Critic’s Poll. In addition to her symphonic and chamber works, jazz recordings and performances, Tonooka has composed over a dozen film scores, including the Academy Award-nominated “Family Gathering” by Lise Yasui, and “Daring to Resist” by Martha Lubell, aired on PBS. She is also featured in “A Note of Hope,” released in 2011, a full-length documentary from Citygate Films on the youngest victims of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Tonooka’s career has been chronicled in several highly regarded jazz books, including “Living the Jazz Life” by Royal Stokes, “In The Moment” by Francis Davis, and “Madame Jazz” by Leslie Gourse. As a professional response to an inherent void within the music industry, Tonooka, along with alto saxophonist Chris Burnett and tenor saxophonist Erica Lindsay, co-founded the Artists Recording Collective (ARC), an internationally recognized brand and recording label. She now divides her time between her responsibilities as the Chief Public Relations Officer for ARC, composing and performing for an increasingly widespread audience of jazz aficionados. Jazz Bridge, an award-winning nonprofit dedicated to assisting Greater Philadelphia Metro area jazz and blues musicians and vocalists in times of crisis, sponsors these neighborhood concerts throughout the region to keep the sound of Philadelphia alive.
For more info call: 856-858-8914, 215-517-8337 or visit online at jazzbridge.org/events/neighborhood-concerts.
show less