Bandcamp Daily
14.02.25
Essential ReleasesRead ReviewNozomi is the second full-length from two of Munich’s most esteemed, prolific players: Matthias Lindermayr, Berklee-educated trumpeter, composer, and member of the experimental jazz fusion band Fazer; and Masako Ohta, an award-winning, classically trained pianist and multidisciplinary performance artist originally from Tokyo. A brass-and-keys duo with an established track record of embracing improvisation live, and on record, they embody all the elements that make a collaborative jazz project great (synchronicity, spontaneity, subtlety, discipline, spirit), unified in a softened, unassuming stance that gives the impression of two friends having an ad hoc heart-to-heart, as opposed to a studio recording session. The end results are as therapeutic as it gets—especially fortunate after another chaotic week.
Pianist Masako Ohta and trumpet player Matthias Lindermayr are back on Squama with 'Nozomi', the follow-up to their 2022 debut 'MMMMH'. The Japanese title, which translates to ‘hope’, felt fitting, as the album was conceived during a time of personal loss for Ohta, during and after which music proved itself as a beacon of hope. The music on Nozomi unfolds gently, with Lindermayr’s airy tone and lyrical playing being wrapped in Ohta’s chordal backing that moves from tender to tense and back over the course of the album. While most tunes were written by Lindermayr, the only exception being an interpretation of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s ‘Hibari’, the arrangements are largely improvised, letting the duo’s intuition guide the course and build the form. Solemn slowness has become a signature trait of the Munich-based duo and it makes listening to their new record a healing retreat from the frantic chatter of the present.
Music written by Matthias Lindermayr.
Hibari written by Ryūichi Sakamoto.
Shaped and brought to life by Masako Ohta and Matthias Lindermayr.
Recorded by Noël Riedel.
Mixed and Mastered by Martin Ruch.
Laquer Cut by Sidney Meyer.
Produced by Martin Brugger.
Photography accompanying the album by Daisuke Tomizawa.
Calligraphy and stamp by Ko Huihuang.
Photography by Lina Mendozza.
Designed by Maximilian Schachtner.
Booklet printed and produced by Herr & Frau Rio.
©℗ 2025 Squama Recordings
Masako Ohta
The Japanese pianist Masako Ohta, coming from Tokyo, is active in the fields of classical and new music, improvisation, film scoring, and theatre music compositions. Masako Ohta was awarded the Förderpreis für Musik der Landeshauptstadt München 2018/2019. She is intensively involved with poetry, sound and music from Japan, Europe and other cultures and creates intercultural and interdisciplinary projects and concert series. She completed her piano studies at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo and at the Hochschule (University) der Künste Berlin with Erich Andreas and György Sebök. She also attended master classes with András Schiff and György Kurtág.
Matthias Lindermayr
Matthias Lindermayr, coming from a family of musicians (his father is a pianist and his mother teaches early music education), received classical piano lessons as a child; he learned to play the trumpet when he was twelve. He also played electric guitar in rock bands as a teenager. He studied jazz trumpet with Claus Reichstaller at the University of Music and Theatre in Munich, then began composition studies with Gregor Hübner. Tiger Okoshi proved to be an important mentor, with whom he studied at Berklee College of Music in 2014/2015. He continued his studies in 2016 at the Jazz Institute Berlin with John Hollenbeck and Gerard Presencer.
Nozomi 180g vinyl LP in Nagoaka Style innersleeve
Features a 24 pages risograph printed publication and a print with works by Tokyo based photographer Daisuke Tomizawa created for the release€ 28
Nozomi CD Silver printed digipack
€ 15
Nozomi Booklet 24 pages risograph printed publication with works by Tokyo based photographer Daisuke Tomizawa created for the release of SQM033
€ 15
MMMMH 180g vinyl, Repress comes with new edition silver risograph artprint
€ 25
