Toshinori Kondo (่ฟ่ค ็ญๅ, Kondล Toshinori, 15 December 1948 โ 17 October 2020) was a Japanese avant-garde jazz and jazz fusion trumpeter trumpeter whose daring instinct and deep expressive resources slashed through a spectrum of experimental and ambient music. A trailblazing figure in his native Japan, Kondo earned much of his reputation while based in Amsterdam or New York City. He was a sought-after collaborator in free jazz, locking horns with the incendiary German saxophonist Peter Brรถtzmann and courting revelation with other avant-garde luminaries, like English guitarist Derek Bailey and Dutch drummer Han Bennink. Kondo also thrived in electroacoustic settings where groove was paramount โ whether leading his own groups, like Toshinori Kondo IMA; on a range of projects with bassist-producer Bill Laswell; or in a joint effort with DJ Krush, notably on the mid-1990s trip-hop album Ki-Oku.
In this stunningly composed meditation on space and human relationships,...
Throughout three decades, Bill Laswell has been a constant innovator,...
