“If there’s some kind of fantastical Venn diagram involving Monk, the Wandelweiser Group and Morton Feldman then her first album as leader for ECM surely belongs in the overlap. Sparse, subtle and determined as much by silence as by sound, hers is a music created using deft, fleeting strokes, resulting in uncluttered, cryptic musical statements that for the most part are simply allowed to hang in the air, their context implied rather than stated. The intriguing thing is that there’s a genuine jazz sensibility at work here, but conveyed as if by a hypnotist’s power of suggestion rather than by forthright assertion. This set of short aphoristic pieces will delight anyone already familiar with her work and fascinate willing and receptive newcomers.”

“Often forgotten in the rush to celebrate rhythm and melody is one of music’s most powerful ingredients: complete and utter silence. Few artists today have made quiet a part of their art in more profound ways than Japanese pianist Ayumi Tanaka. As her most intimate statement, Subaqueous Silence, is by its very title, a statement of Tanaka’s belief that music is a fragile, mystical gift, one that demands much from the listener, and is only revealed by careful listening to every note and every empty space, rather than music as background or a gaggle of instrumental voices playing at once. Rarely has silence carried this much meaning.”

“Beautiful music for immersion”

“Tanaka’s soft tones act as redemption in the midst of the noise; like rain that washes away the danger.”

“It doesn’t get any more beautiful than this”