12/17/25: </br>Sumi Tonooka
Mary Lou Williams famously depicted jazz as a tree, its trunk all blues with suffering at its roots.
The fruits of that tree are the artists, literature and culture of jazz we know today. And the proud culture Williams celebrates here is one she lived from the beginning. On the release of the unfortunately named Original Dixieland Jass Band’s first recording in 1917 Mary Lou Williams was 7. Her lifespan and creative output covered the gamut from spirituals and ragtime, through swing and bebop to the avant garde as reflected in her daring 1977 duo concert with Cecil Taylor.
Sumi Tonooka is a contemporary composer/pianist also concerned with trees. Fittingly she was a student of Mary Lou. And like Mary Lou, Sumi’s embrace of the music’s history is broad—a synthesis of what precedes her and intimations of what’s to come. Enter Sumi’s new album Under the Surface with Alchemy Sound Project.
The album takes its inspiration from the massive mycorrhizal networks that connect forest root systems, “a metaphor for community . . . my teachers, colleagues, friends and family who have helped nourish my artistic path and all of the artists who have dedicated their lives to this art form, upon whose shoulders we stand in the continuance.” It’s a breathtaking work that confirms Sumi, in the words of Downbeat’s Howard Mandel, as “an artist of expansive vision.” Critic Michael Haifl describes a journey through this work as “a path through the undergrowth. A place where ideas take root, thoughts branch out, rhythms feed off each other, and sound pulsates like moist soil beneath our feet.”
Under the Surface is the fourth album from Alchemy Sound Project—a composer/player collective “committed to synthesizing the individual voices and experiences of diverse composers into a musical experience that is fresh and new.”
Joining Sumi for this program:
Erica Lindsay—tenor saxophone
Salim Washington—multi-reeds
Gregg August—bass
Samantha Boshnack—trumpet
Michael Ventoso—trombone
Joining the group for this performance on drums is the exceptional Mekhi Boone, son of jazz bassist, educator, producer Mike Boone and gospel singer/choir director Candi’ce Hinmon-Boone. Mekhi has performed on stage with Joey DeFrancesco, Duane Eubanks, Orrin Evans, Frank McComb, Bootsie Barnes, Larry McKenna, Pablo Batista, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Gerald Veasley, Ben Vereen, Samara Joy as well as the elder Boone himself.
Perhaps you thought @exuberance had wasted away, but we were just saving up for this holiday special. Only 85 seats here so demand will vastly exceed supply.
We’re talking Wednesday, December 17 at 7pm.
As always there will be no talking, cameras, cell phones, etc. after the music starts—aka piano jazz without distractions. We’ll have an intermission between sets to allow for conversation and refreshments.
Looking forward to this.
Matt