Ayumi Tanaka / Thomas Morgan / Thomas Strønen

Ayumi Tanaka (piano) Thomas Morgan (double bass) Thomas Strønen (drums)

Tickets

Pianist Ayumi Tanaka, bassist Thomas Morgan, and drummer Thomas Strønen are distinguished by their sensitivity and intuitive artistry: Together, they compose in the moment, weaving music that is at once lyrical and abstract, calm yet full of tension. At the heart of their collaboration is a harmony shaped by attentive listening and a shared, instinctive musical language.

With their ECM debut, the trio presents a delicate dialogue in which every note and every pause carries meaning. Their performances are intimate and authentic, taking the audience on a shared journey of discovery as the music unfolds.

Japanese pianist Ayumi Tanaka began studying classical music at the age of three and was later influenced by Scandinavian improvisation. She studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music with Misha Alperin. She made her ECM debut in 2018 with Thomas Strønen. In 2021, she released the trio album *Bayou* as well as her debut as bandleader, *Subaqueous Silence*, which was highly praised for its hypnotic soundscape.

California-born, New York-based bassist Thomas Morgan is one of the most sought-after jazz musicians of his generation. Known for his sensitive, melodic playing, he has collaborated with numerous greats such as Bill Frisell, Craig Taborn, and Charles Lloyd. He has released two duo albums with Frisell on ECM.

Norwegian drummer and composer Thomas Strønen has been a fixture on the European jazz scene since 1999 and has contributed to over 80 albums. He has composed for the BBC and the Norwegian Opera, among others, and has won several Norwegian Grammys. His current projects combine improvisation with chamber music and highlight his stylistic versatility.

Further information

Venue:

Stadtgarten

The first concert in the newly built Stadtgarten concert hall in the mid-1980s launched a program unlike anything Germany had seen: an independent, artistically driven concert series devoted to contemporary improvised music. It was guided neither by attendance figures nor by public subsidies, yet it guaranteed musicians minimum fees and was run on professional terms. The conditions mattered just as much: an acoustically optimized, street-level concert space offering a strong setting for audiences and performers alike. Operations were financed through the adjoining hospitality business, the Stadtgarten restaurant and beer garden, a model that drew attention well beyond Germany.

Today the Stadtgarten Köln ranks among Europe's internationally recognized venues for contemporary and improvised music. The American magazine Down Beat features it regularly in its listings; it has received Germany's federal APPLAUS venue program award several times, including "Venue of the Year" in 2016, followed by the German Jazz Prize in the same category in 2022. More than 400 events across the full spectrum of contemporary music now take place there each year. Its international standing rests above all on the high proportion of demanding, experimental programming.

A programming mission of this kind depends on reliable public support. The venue's 30th anniversary in September 2016 opened that prospect: through a partnership between the City of Cologne and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, programming work is being substantially strengthened, and from 2017 onward the Stadtgarten Köln is being developed step by step into a "European Center for Jazz and Contemporary Music" – with the goal of becoming one of Europe's leading music centers.

more info

More dates at Stadtgarten: