Rhapsody 425

Atsuko Kohashi received a grant for developing new music. In 2025, Japan and the Netherlands will celebrate 425 years of relations. Both countries maintain a special historical bond and have influenced each other not only politically and economically, but also in terms of cultural traditions, craftsmanship and art. Now Atzko, together with Dutch bassist Tony Overwater, demonstrates through improvisation and close collaboration how the fusion of two seemingly different cultures can succeed.

Atsuko is a Japanese-born jazz pianist living in Amsterdam. From 1994 to 2001, she lived in New York where she studied with jazz master Steve Kuhn. Such a multicultural background has certainly influenced her outlook on music and led to her unique musical style. She has collaborated with several Dutch musicians for concerts and recordings and her album Crescent played with Dutch bassist Tony Overwater was nominated for the Dutch Edison Award (National category) 2022. In the fall of 2023, she and Tony Overwater were invited by the Cairo Jazz Festival in Egypt to give a concert and workshop. The duo will also tour Japan in June 2024, giving 6 concerts and workshops with great success.