| Jazz |
Summary : A documentary-inspired big band suite by Miyajima, recorded live at Jazz at Lincoln Center, transforms testimonies from survivors of Japan’s 2011 earthquake into an ambitious musical work. Powerful and emotionally direct, the album impresses through its orchestral craftsmanship, even if its message sometimes feels overly explicit.
An invitation to sonic curiosity is embedded in the very premise of this album.
Recorded live at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center on March 17, 2025, the 72-minute work unfolds as a documentary-inspired suite for large jazz ensemble. It showcases the institutional expertise and artistic ambition that have long been associated with Jazz at Lincoln Center. Drawing on personal interviews conducted by Miyajima with twenty survivors and volunteers affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, commonly known as “3.11,” the project brings together a 17-piece big band and actors Megan Masako Haley, Ashton Muñiz, and Arielle Gonzalez, whose voices give life to the testimonies throughout the performance.
The spoken texts often feel more functional than revelatory. They rarely match the sophistication of the musical writing, offering reflections that can seem predictable when set against the richness and complexity of the score. That may well be a deliberate choice. The directness of the language appears designed to reach the broadest possible audience, and simplicity can be an effective vehicle for collective remembrance. Musically, however, there is little doubt about the level of craftsmanship on display. The musicians clearly relish Miyajima’s compositions, investing them with energy and conviction.
As the composer explains, the album’s international release coincides with the fifteenth anniversary of the disaster in 2026.
“This project was born from my need to overcome my own pain,” Miyajima said. “But what stayed with me in the end was a sense of wonder at the remarkable nature of human beings, and at the beauty and preciousness of the struggle to keep living. In a time marked by war, displacement, and extreme inequality, I often found myself asking how one can live with integrity amid all of this. This album is the answer I found.”
History, often painful history, has long served as fuel for artists across disciplines. Here, a torrent of sound immerses the listener in an intensely expressive landscape. Is it grief? Perhaps. More than that, it feels like turmoil, the lingering weight of experiences from which people struggle to free themselves once they have been deeply marked by them. What is undeniable is the sense of force that drives the work forward. It often feels less like a composition than a sustained cry.
Because history has a habit of repeating itself, the piece seems to embrace that cyclical reality. Audiences have reportedly been moved to tears at every performance. One attendee remarked, “Knowing that so many people found the strength to keep moving forward after the earthquake gave me courage. My own family has faced cancer.” Whatever their country or personal circumstances, listeners appear to recognize something universal in that determination to continue despite suffering.
At the world premiere, as the final notes faded away, the hall reportedly remained suspended in silence before erupting into applause. The emotional response was unmistakable and, in many ways, understandable given the subject matter and the sincerity of the work’s intentions.
Yet despite multiple listens, I have never been entirely won over by the project. From my perspective, it deserved a more probing treatment, both musically and textually. At times, there are echoes of Prokofiev that feel almost too apparent. Certain orchestral gestures, harmonic turns, and dramatic constructions evoke familiar twentieth-century models so directly that they occasionally distract from the work’s own voice. For a European listener, many of these references stand so close to the surface that they become difficult to ignore.
That, ultimately, is what prevents me from fully embracing the album. I tend to prefer works that conceal their influences, that reveal themselves gradually and resist easy interpretation. Here, everything is undeniably beautiful, carefully crafted, and emotionally sincere. But it is also unusually transparent. Its emotional directness will resonate deeply with many listeners, and for some that openness will be one of the album’s greatest strengths. For me, however, the absence of greater ambiguity leaves the experience slightly less compelling than it might otherwise have been.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, June 10th, 2026
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Performed by Miggy Augmented Orchestra
Migiwa “Miggy” Miyajima, composer, conductor, piano (on #4)
Megan Masako Haley, actor, singer
Dan Urness, trumpet, flugelhorn
David Smith, trumpet, flugelhorn
Stuart Mack, trumpet, flugelhorn
Rachel Therrien, trumpet, flugelhorn
Ryan Keberle, trombone
Jason Jackson, trombone
Evan Amoroso, trombone
Gina Benalcazar-Lopez, bass trombone
Ben Kono, alto saxophone, soprano sax, flute
Todd Bashore, alto saxophone, flute, clarinet
Sam Dillon, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Quinsin Nachoff, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Carl Maraghi, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Pete McCann, guitar
Martha Kato, piano (All except #6)
Migiwa Miyajima, piano (on #6)
Jared Beckstead-Craan, bass
Tim Horner, drums
Ashton Muñiz, actor for Akira Sato, Kazemaru Chiba, Takayuki, Takayuki Yoshinaga
Arielle Gonzalez, actor for Yuko Miyajima, Kyohmi Takahashi, A.K. and Together for 311
Interviewees:
Akira Sato (Fukushima First Bible Baptist Church)
Kyohmi Takahashi
Kazemaru Chiba
Takayuki Yoshinaga
A.K. Akemi Kakihara and 12 fellows from Fellowship for Japan (Together for 311)
Yuko Miyajima
Recorded live at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Editing Engineer Satoshi Hashimoto
Mix & Mastering Engineer Jay Messina
Production assistant Joseph HerbstAlbum Cover Art
Art Director/Designer: Finn Evans