Trinfinity Makoto Ozone

• 1The Path08:28
• 2Snapshot07:10
• 3The Park Hopper06:27
• 4Deviation06:15
• 5Etudade06:40
• 6Momentary Moment04:46
• 7Mr. Monster08:07
• 8Infinity05:04
• 9Origin of the Stars06:41
• Total Runtime59:38

Info for Trinfinity

The new trio, Makoto Ozone, will take off into the infinite sky with two young talents who will be responsible for the future of jazz. In 2023, the 40th anniversary of his debut, Makoto Ozone has formed a new trio, "Trinfinity". The trio has been a member of "The Trio" for over 40 years.

Trinfinity is a new trio formed by the young musicians of the next generation, led by Misuzu Jono, an actor, and Ozone. The new members are bassist Shinpei Ogawa and drummer Kitai Kunito, both members of "From OZONE till Dawn," a project led by Ogawa and actor Misuzu Jinno that aims to bring the next generation of young musicians to the stage.

Ogawa and Kitaito have been working on "From OZONE till Dawn" since 2021, performing at Blue Note Tokyo and various halls, and performing with a full orchestra at the New Japan Philharmonic subscription concerts of Ozone's original works. He has also performed with the full orchestra at the New Japan Philharmonic subscription concerts of his original compositions.The new trio, which has established a strong trust on these creative stages, recorded the album in New York in August 2023.

The album features mainly originals by Ozone and two originals by Shinpei Ogawa. As the band's name, which is a combination of the words "Trio" and "Infinity," suggests, this is a fresh and intense trio album with unlimited possibilities in the chemical reactions created by their moment-to-moment interplay. Depending on the song, Paquito D'Rivera and Danny McCaslin, who are close friends of Ozone, as well as Riko Sasaki, a rising star alto saxophonist currently studying at Berklee College of Music, and Takafumi Nikaido, a percussionist active in the New York jazz scene, participate in the album and add color to it.

Makoto Ozone, piano
Shinpei Ogawa, double bass
Kunito Kittai, drums
Paquito Delibera, clarinet (track 5)
Danny McCaslin, tenor saxophone (tracks 3, 4)
Rashiko Sasaki, alto saxophone (track 3)
Takafumi Nikaido, percussion (track 5)

Recorded August 25 and 26, 2023 at Power Station, New York, NYC.

Makoto Ozone
is a unique force in both jazz and classical music, blending sound worlds and a host of influences into his performances. Born in Kobe, Japan, he was self-taught in jazz, under his father’s guidance, first on the organ, then piano. He first came to public attention when he gave his solo recital at the Carnegie Hall in 1983, following his graduation from Berklee College of Music. Ozone then became the first Japanese artist to sign an exclusive contract with CBS and released his first album, Ozone, a year after his Carnegie debut.

His stellar career in jazz, which earned him a Grammy nomination in 2003, has brought him regularly to the forefront of the international jazz scene, recording and touring with musicians such as Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Paquito D'Rivera, Anna Maria Jopek, Branford Marsalis, and others. In 2004, he formed his own big band in Japan, "No Name Horses" which has regularly toured to Europe, North America and Asia since its creation. In more recent years, Ozone has expanded into classical repertoire, alongside his jazz engagements. Having first performed Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue in 1996, he now performs concertos by Mozart, Bernstein, Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Rachmaninov with major orchestras. Alongside his performing schedule, Ozone composes music, with over 300 pieces to his name, many for ‘No Name Horses’, as well as a symphony and piano concerto.

In 2014, Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic invited Ozone to join their Asian tour. Following this, he performed with the orchestra at the Lincoln Center, New York, in 2014 and again in 2017, from which a recording ‘Beyond Borders’ with performances of Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue and Bernstein The Age of Anxiety was released. He has collaborated with a prestigious list of conductors including François-Xavier Roth, Marin Alsop, Alan Gilbert, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Lahav Shani, Thomas Zehetmair and Charles Dutoit and orchestras including San Francisco Symphony, Sao Paulo Symphony, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, as well as many orchestras in Japan, such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra and Sapporo Symphony.

Recent highlights include Ozone’s debut with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France / Lahav Shani, Detroit Symphony Orchestra / Leonard Slatkin and Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra / Christian Arming. This season, Ozone will perform with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra both in Japan and Scotland.

Makoto Ozone has an extensive discography, releasing over 30 albums under his name and as a composer in solo, duo and trio settings, as well as performing as a collaborator on many others. His many awards include the Kinokuniya Theatre Award (2000), Kobe City Culture Award (2005), Fumio Nanri Prize (2007), Hyogo Prefecture Culture Award (2009), Art Encouragement of Education, Culture, Sports, Science Minister's Prize (2014). In 2018, Ozone received the Medal of Honour with Purple Ribbon by the Government of Japan. This is Japan’s highest award to individuals who have made significant contributions to the nation’s academic or cultural life.

This album contains no booklet.