from a review: By Joe Klopus The Kansas City Star Trumpeter Shunzo Ohno is a seemingly shy and modest guy, and the kind of player who wins you over subtlety and songfulness, not with cascades of notes. But behind his playing, ...is a burning ambition. At age 63, Ohno is defying the odds with every solo. It’s fair to describe the urgent way he’s playing now as a real triumph. ...He’s given some memorable performances in our area in recent days... Ohno has proved that his best right now is formidable – good enough to make him an active participant in the New York and on the world scenes once again. (He just got back from his native Japan, and he’s flying back for another Asian tour as soon as he’s done in KC.) “In 1973, Art Blakey came to Japan,” Ohno says. “His trumpeter Woody Shaw couldn’t come, and they needed one trumpeter. So I did the job. After that job, Art said, ‘Come to New York.’” Ohno took the advice, and recites the date of his arrival, March 22, 1974. He gigged some more with Blakey. He worked with Roy Haynes, another veteran drummer with the reputation for nurturing talent. And he tasted real success with another drummer, Norman Connors, when a song that Ohno wrote and played a strong solo on, “Bubbles,” became a hit record for them. There were also stints with the Latin bandleader Machito and the Gil Evans orchestra. He toured with giants Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Ohno was on his way. There were Miles David-like lyrical lines, and outbursts of real musical energy, delivered with that coolest-dude-in-the-room swagger that Lee Morgan had in his playing. And there were great charts, because Ohno is composing and arranging on a high level, too. This modest man has inspired a biography and a documentary film in Japan. But more importantly, he really embodies the power of music to change life again and again. All things considered, chances are good that this survivor has so much swagger in his playing because he really is the coolest dude in the room. .... If you are looking for COOL, INTIMATE MELODIES, FIERCE BOLD ENERGY, INSPIRING SPIRIT, it is bundled into "ALL in One". Crosses all cultures and speaks directly to the heart and soul.