The Squid's Ear Magazine


Koketsu, Masayo / Nava Dunkelman / Tim Berne: Poiesis (Relative Pitch)

A first-time meeting in the studio for alto saxophonists Tim Berne and Masayo Koketsu with percussionist Nava Dunkelman, captured in a dynamic session of collective free improvisation where contrasting approaches — Berne's grounded tone, Koketsu's extended techniques, and Dunkelman's textural percussion — intertwine with clarity and spontaneous expression.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Masayo Koketsu-alto saxophone

Nava Dunkelman-percussion

Tim Berne-alto saxophone


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UPC: 5904224873769

Label: Relative Pitch
Catalog ID: RPR1214
Squidco Product Code: 36118

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at GSI studios, in New York, New York, on April 22nd, 2023, by Jason Rostkowski.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"In a spontaneous studio session, alto saxophonist Tim Berne met fellow saxophonist Masayo Koketsu and percussionist Nava Dunkelman for the first time, setting the stage for an improvisational encounter full of contrasts and surprising cohesion. Berne's rich, dynamic tone, provided a grounded foundation, while Koketsu's innovative use of extended techniques and breathy, ethereal sounds-challenged the space with a more experimental edge. Dunkelman, with her textural percussion, wove between the two saxophones, creating a delicate web of sound that bound their voices together. Her sensitive approach to rhythm and subtle textures allowed the raw, unorthodox interplay of Berne and Koketsu to evolve seamlessly, as if they had been playing together for years. The trio's energy was electric, capturing the essence of spontaneous creation, where the unexpected flourished and each voice was allowed to speak freely, yet with a deep connection that made the entire session feel remarkablyunified."-Relative Pitch


Artist Biographies

"Masayo Koketsu was Born in Japan, Gifu Prefecture and began to play piano at the age of one. She started playing saxophone at the age of fifteen. Very early, she was influenced by Charlie Parker. September 2008 SONY MUSIC marks her debut collaboration with "Isao Suzuki SOLITUDE featuring Masayo Koketsu". She was rapidly considered for her unique tone and her original-rich playing among the jazz community. In August 2015, she released her 1st ALBUM "Band of Eden" collecting her own original songs. In December 2019, she published an autobiographical book "To the Depths of Sound" by Sairyusha, saxophone lecturer at Akihabara "HOT MUSIC SCHOOL".

In May 2015 she played at Italy Torino Festival with Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra. She also participated at Italy Prato in July 2016, at Slovakia POHODA Festival and in Lublin, Poland in October 2019 with Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra. In October 2019 she flew to Shenzhen China for a concert at OCT Jazz Festival with Isao Suzuki Omasound."

-Masayo Koketsu Website (http://masayokoketsu.com/profile)
4/30/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Tim Berne (born 1954) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.

Described by critic Thom Jurek as commanding "considerable power as a composer and ... frighteningly deft ability as a soloist", Berne has composed and performed prolifically since the 1980s. His mainstream success has been limited Ð Berne recorded two albums for Columbia Records Ð but he has released a significant body of work over the decades spanning dozens of critically acclaimed recordings.

Though Berne was a music fan, he had no interest in playing a musical instrument until he was in college, when he purchased an alto saxophone. He was more interested in rhythm and blues music Ð Stax records releases and Aretha Franklin, especially Ð until he heard Julius Hemphill's 1972 recording Dogon A.D.

Hemphill was known for his integration of soul music and funk with free jazz. Berne moved to New York City in 1974. There Berne took lessons from Hemphill, and later recorded with him.

In 1979, Berne founded Empire Records to release his own recordings. He recorded Fulton Street Maul and Sanctified Dreams for Columbia Records, which generated some discussion and controversy, due in part to the fact that Berne's music had little in common with the neo-tradionalist hard bop performers prominent in the mid-1980s. Some regarded Berne's music as uncommercial. In the late 1990s Berne founded Screwgun Records, which has released his own recordings, as well as others' music.

Beyond his recordings as a bandleader, Berne has recorded and/or performed with guitarist Bill Frisell, avant-garde composer/sax player John Zorn, violinist Mat Maneri, guitarist David Torn, cellist Hank Roberts, trumpet player Herb Robertson, the ARTE Quartett and as a member of the cooperative trio Miniature.

Recent years have found Berne performing in several different groups with drummers Tom Rainey and Gerald Cleaver, keyboardist Craig Taborn, bassists Michael Formanek and Drew Gress, guitarists Marc Ducret and David Torn, and reeds player Chris Speed.

He is one-third of the group BBC (Berne/Black/Cline) along with drummer Jim Black and Nels Cline of Wilco. The group released a critically acclaimed album called The Veil in 2011.

Berne's complex, multi-section compositions are often quite lengthy; twenty- to thirty-minute pieces are not unusual. One critic wrote that Berne's long songs "don't grow tiresome. The musicians are brilliantly creative and experienced enough not to get lost in all the room provided by these large time frames." "

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berne)
4/30/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Page 1 4:29

2. Page 2 4:49

3. Page 3 4:04

4. Page 4 7:41

5. Page 5 6:52

6. Page 6 4:35

7. Page 7 5:40

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Collective & Free Improvsation
Asian Improvisation & Jazz
Trio Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

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