MIGGY AUGMENTED ORCHESTRA

UNBREAKABLE HOPE & RESILIENCE

Soundspore Records

Migiwa Miyajima is a composer, pianist and six-time Grammy-nominated producer.  She has intended to write and produce this album for over a decade. It was finally recorded “Live” at Dizzy’s Club, as a Jazz at Lincoln Center project.

Here is a deeply personal, 72-minute musical portrayal of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake that Migiwa Miyajima and her mother survived. That natural disaster included violent shaking, several devastating fires, and the sudden explosion at the Fukushima nuclear plant.  “Miggy” wanted to document it in a musical form.

Jazz plays softly in the background.  A walking bass line and swinging drums lock hands. Then comes Megan Masako Haley’s voice.  The orchestra leader sought out people who had experienced the earthquake. She interviewed them for this album called “Unbreakable Hope & Resilience.”  The actor reads the words of an interviewee.

“I was at home teaching my piano students.  March 11, 2011, an ordinary spring day until it happened at 2:46pm,” reads Megan.

Suddenly the trombone of Ryan Keberle moans and bellows, almost like a human scream. Then it mimics a warning siren, like the sound of the nuclear plant, a horn alerting the public it has been breached.  The trombone mocks the nuclear building’s warning signal. The drummer uses mallets to play the orchestra drum loudly.

“That’s when I saw that the electric poles were moving like they were made of Jello.  Parked cars were jumping up and down.  The earthquake had triggered a massive Tsunami … and the explosion of the nuclear power plant,” Megan went on to describe the terrifying event.

The Miggy Augmented Orchestra plays Beneath the Survivor Stories. They use instrumentation to depict the emotion and fear that accompanied this horrific event. The horns shout with harmonic voices.  The drummer, Tim Horner, punctuates the moments with rhythm and energy. With the roll of his drums, I can almost feel the earth shake beneath my feet.

A tune called “Where is My Home?” follows the opening number.  It’s Straight-ahead jazz featuring a dynamic tenor saxophone solo by Sam Dillon.  This is one of my favorite original compositions interpreted by the Miggy Augmented Orchestra. But every piece is well-written and dynamically delivered. The energy level is off-the-charts! The voice of Ashton Muniz tells the next story in a determined voice. She speaks of taking one step at a time.  After the catastrophe, she is still able to speak about spreading love.

On “A Step for Tomorrow” conductor, composer, Miyajima sits down at the piano to perform a stunning duo presentation with Jason Jackson on trombone. Her sense of harmonics is vivid and present, even in this duet setting. I was also greatly impressed by the baritone saxophone solo of Carl Maraghi on “I Will Make a Change.”

This album shows humanity’s constant search for community, and our quest for survival. The Miggy Augmented Orchestra, inspired by the awesome compositions and arrangements of Migiwa Miyajima, gives life and hope to a world full of calamities and challenges. Her compositions are melodically rich. The arrangements soar with emotional solos and expose the excellence of these players.  This music encourages us to face life’s trials together, with “Hope & Resilience.”

THE MIGGY AUGMENTED ORCHESTRA: Migiwa Miyajima, composer/conductor/piano duet; RHYTHM SECTION: Pete McCann, guitar; Martha Kato, piano; Jared Beckstead-Craan, bass; Tim Horner, drums. REEDS: Ben Kono, alto & soprano saxophone/flute; Todd Bashore, alto saxophone/flute/clarinet; Sam Dillon & Quinsin Nachoff, tenor saxophone/clarinet; Carl Maraghi, baritone saxophone/bass clarinet. TRUMPETS/FLUGELHORNS: Dan Urness, David Smith, Stuart Mack & Rachel Therrien. ACTORS/VOICES/VOCALS: Megan Masako Haley, Ashton Muñiz, Arielle Gonzalez, Arielle Gonzalez, and Migiwa Miyajimo. INTERVIEWEES: Migiwa Miyajimo, Akira Sato, Kazemaru Iso Chiba, Tokayuki Yoshinaga, AK, Kyohmi Takahashi & Yuko Miyojima.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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