“…the sextet devotes itself explicitly to Tonooka’s singular music, realizing it to a ‘T’ and requiring she be considered an artist of expansive vision. Regarding Monk, Mary Lou Williams and Stanley Cowell as influences, Tonooka is a thoughtful, inquisitive, expressive pianist. Those qualities imbue the seven tracks of her suite.” (Under The Surface)
HOWARD MANDEL – DownBeat Magazine
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“With deft composition, ace solo work, and a thrilling variety of moods and colors, Under the Surface is a phenomenal new work by a brilliant artist.”
Monarch Magazine
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“One can’t deny there’s something special in Tonooka’s compositions. The contrast between “Mother Tongue” and “For Stanley” confirms her versatility. The former, full of sophistication and set in a bright septuple meter, features flute, sax, and trumpet in melodic consonance, as well as striking counterpoint; the latter, written for Tonooka’s mentor—the brilliant pianist Stanley Cowell— leans toward a more traditional jazz sculpting, delivered in trio format with rhythmic nuance, intimacy, and control.
JazzTrail
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“Sumi Tonooka doesn’t just write compositions, she narrates and lives her music…’Under The Surface’ is perhaps the most beautiful walk in the woods you’ve ever taken with your eyes closed.
MICHAEL HAIFL – SaetinKult Magazine/Germany
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“Indispensable… For those willing to journey into deeper soil, Tonooka’s suite is one of 2025’s most moving musical offerings: a meditation on interconnection, resilience, and grace.” (Under The Surface)
THIERRY DE CLEMENSAT – Paris Move
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“…a mesmerizing combination of chamber jazz, symphonic music, modern jazz and big band. You might even hear strains of Charles Mingus in this aurally delicious mix.”
BOB PROTZMAN – DownBeat Magazine
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“ALCHEMY SOUND PROJECT uses music to celebrate nature and hopefully, to bring peace to a world in chaos… spontaneous and inventive… unique and powerful creative vision.”
DEE DEE MCNEIL – Musical Memoirs
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“a completely unselfish and egalitarian approach to playing jazz. Mingus had it in his bands, and so did Levitt and Murray.
I was completely enraptured in the music from start to finish, and to be honest, I seldom have my attention so riveted in a recorded moment to moment, jazz or classical, as much as I was held attentive by this CD.”
LYNN RENE BAYLEY – The Art Music Lounge
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“Smartly constructed… with a driving momentum from the horns, flavored by robust harmonic sophistication…”
TROY DOSTERT – All About Jazz
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“snippets of pre-Brew Miles Davis, Prestige-era John Coltrane and the aforementioned Dave Brubeck’s trademark time signature fluctuations abound…”
BLITZ MAGAZINE
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“picturesque, edgy compositions from each of the band’s core members and an acerbic, often combustible blend of very distinct, individual voices.”
LUCID CULTURE
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“Indispensable! – So many reasons that make this album shine in the heart of the editorial staff of Bayou Blue Radio and Paris-Move, to the point of sticking our sticker of “Indispensables” on the cover.”
THIERRY DOCMAC – Bayou Blue News/Paris Move
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“a synergy that seems almost supernatural.”
JAZZ TROTTER – France Musique
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“the music gushes like a jet.”
VINYLMINE
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“This is decidedly one of the best jazz albums I’ve listened to (yet) in 2016!… a superb aural adventure that gets a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED from me, with a (perfect) ‘EQ’ (energy quotient) rating of 5.0 – which means that it gets the ‘PICK’ of this issue for ‘best jazz ensemble’…”
ROTCOD ZZAJ – Improvijazzation Nation
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“Something wonderful. Something transformational… Further Explorations is indeed a musical pilgrimage that searches the horizons and moves beyond them. The compositions are inspiring and intelligent and the performance artistry is exemplary.”
TRAVIS ROGERS, JR. – The Jazz Owl
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“The most impressive quality of the music on this disc is the ability to artfully blur composition and improvisation to where it can be nearly imperceptible, and the way the seven piece group is suggestive of an entire thirteen or fifteen piece big band because the various methods of orchestration make things sound so rich.”
CJ SHEARN – Jazz Views with CJ Shearn
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“…thoughtful, atmospheric, meditative, soulful, to the progressive/contemporary, bold and experimental.”
DAVE BROWNLOW – Bebop Spoken Here
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“The invention, tonal shading and occasional raucousness on this album give it a warm glow and a sense of fun.”
KARL ACKERMANN – All About Jazz
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“Alchemy Sound Project Goes Metaphysical… Further Explorations is a treat for the ear, a smorgasbord rather than a tightly planned and scheduled musical meal.”
LYNN RENE BAYLEY – The Art Music Lounge
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“To properly distill classical music and jazz music, one must be on intimate terms with both or the experiment will most likely wind up being either one or the other — but not both. Enter Alchemy Sound Project. Its Further Explorations debut combines West African folk motifs with European classical and stateside jazz. Does it succeed? In spades!”
MIKE GREENBLATT – Classicalite
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