Akira Tana & Otonowa - Love's Radiance (Ai San San) (2019)

Otonowa was founded in 2012 by four American musicians of Japanese descent in response to the Great Eastern Earthquake/Tsunami of March 2011 that devastated coastal regions of Northern Japan (Tohoku) claiming over 20,000 lives. Our mission is offered as an homage and in respect to the victims and survivors to that event. On this, our third collection of songs released on CD, we have continued to expand our interpretation of songs related to Japan, both traditional and popular, in the American jazz tradition. The songs on this CD include themes from Japanese film and television shows to traditional, folk and pop melodies that go back decades. There is also one original composition that pays tribute to a pioneer in the Asian American Movement, Chris Kando Iijima. We have made several visits to Japan, sharing our music with the people of the still rebuilding areas, letting them know that their collective and individual suffering and losses are not forgotten. We hope our music plays some small part in bringing people together and healing some of the wounds inflicted on the communities of Tohoku on March 11, 2011. Thank you, Akira Tana