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Ayumi Tanaka, Thomas Morgan, Thomas Strønen
Biography Ayumi Tanaka, Thomas Morgan, Thomas Strønen
Ayumi Tanaka
is a Japanese pianist and composer who began playing music at the age of three, influenced by classical, and later on, Nordic improvisational musicians and her own mentor, the late Misha Alperin at the Norwegian Academy of Music where she studied from 2011 until 2016. Starting in 2018, Ayumi began collaborating with Manfred Eicher at ECM Records which culminated in her Trio’s album “Subaqueous Silence”. Currently, she is performing globally with different ensembles as well as developing her own solo music.
Thomas Morgan
Born in 1981 in Hayward, California, Thomas is an American jazz bassist known for his exceptionally lyrical, understated style and his rare ability to make even complex improvisational settings feel weightless and conversational.
Originally a classical cellist, he switched to double bass at age 14 and quickly developed an unusually refined sense of harmony, time, and melodic counterpoint – traits that would become his signature.
Thomas studied with Joe Gilman, Art Davis, and later at the Manhattan School of Music with Harvie S and Garry Dial.
His early grounding in classical technique, combined with a deep absorption of the jazz tradition, shaped his sound: warm, transparent, rhythmically subtle, and deeply supportive without ever being passive.
Thomas is widely admired in the jazz world for his listening-first approach. He often functions less as a “bass player” and more as an equal conversationalist – reacting, probing, and reshaping the harmonic and rhythmic environment in real time.
His touch is feather-light but authoritative; his lines are melodic rather than pattern-driven; and he is known for rarely repeating himself.
He has become a first-call collaborator for some of the most forward-thinking artists in contemporary jazz, including Bill Frisell (one of his most important ongoing partnerships; their duo work is critically acclaimed), Paul Motian (Motian loved Morgan’s “anti-formula” approach), Joey Baron, Craig Taborn, Masabumi Kikuchi (another defining musical relationship), Steve Coleman & Tomasz Stańko.
Thomas appears on dozens of influential recordings across ECM, Intakt, Pirouet, and other major labels.
His bass playing is often described as transparent, elastic, and emotionally direct, with an almost uncanny ability to make any ensemble feel more spacious and conversational.
He continues to live in New York City, performing internationally and remaining one of the most quietly influential bass voices of his generation.
Thomas Strønen
is a Norwegian jazz drummer and composer, known for more than 60 albums, and cooperation with internationally acclaimed musicians worldwide. Strønen is recording for the great German label ECM and also for Rune Grammofon. As a composer, Strønen has contributed to the release of over forty recordings as well as several commissioned works for festivals.
