Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble
Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble is a world chamber jazz ensemble based in New York City, founded in 2006 by jazz violinist and composer, Meg Okura.
Discography
- Meg Okura's Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble
- Naima
- ''Music of Ryuichi Sakamoto''
Awards and honors
- 2006 Best New Age Album, Independent Music Awards
- 2006 Metlife Creative Connections Grant, Meet the Composer
- 2007–2008 American Composers Forum, Jerome Composers Commissioning Program
- 2008 Manhattan Community Art Fund, LMCC
- 2008 Metlife Creative Connections Grant, Meet the Composer
- 2013 & 2015 Manhattan Community Arts Fund, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
- 2014 New Music USA Project Grant, New Music US, Urban Artist Initiative/New York
Reception
"...breathtaking...shivers of emotion down the spine...flawless technique...Okura has established herself as a complete musician and a major one."
"Meg has created what surely must someday become a Jazz standard. Meg Okura has given a stunning reintroduction to the music from the genius of Ryuichi Sakamoto."
"... is equally comfortable playing classical chamber music, rock and everything in between."
"...a stunning improvisation on top of an impressionistic backdrop."
"...chamber jazz has found its queen in Meg Okura."
"Naima is the magnificent new release from violin virtuoso Meg Okura and the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble. Captivating, exciting and refreshing are just one way to describe the track offerings that are featured. Aptly named after one of John Coltrane's famous compositions, Naima is marvelously diverse mixing the past, present and future."
"Okura has made a bold statement with Naima, ensuring her place among the top names playing chamber jazz."
"Meg Okura offers a clear sense of vision of her world of music. Okura's Naima goes to many places, speaks in many voices, and is often rich with surprises and admirable in its aspirations."
"Ms. Okura's vibrant, Eastern-influenced, jazzy score and the playing of her musicians were the most sophisticated parts of the work"
"... the best jazz New York has to offer."
"...mixes a classically trained mastery of strings, piano and drums with quick-witted compositional twist performed with high energy."
"The group delivers exactly what its name promises...the group found a common ground in '60s-style modality, occasionally reminiscent of John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner's Eastern explorations."
"...elegantly intertwine elements of classical, jazz and world folk into a new sound...by presenting precisely played ethnically inspired original compositions in an exciting modern jazz context."