***The Strad Magazine, February, 09: Tomoko Omura's Visions is a fine example of jazz violin for those who want to explore beyond the Grappelli genre. Omura is a strong improviser: snappy phrasing, harmonic scope and a willingness to open out run through the music, whether it it post-bop or fusion-tinged. At the same time, the sound is unforced, understated but not limp, clean but not prissy. Bassist Dan Carpel is no less laid-back, while the drums provide drive in the more up-tempo numbers. The overall effect is a fresh group sound that mixes a contemporary feel and established jazz idioms with considerable success. For the violin, this is a rarity. ---------------------------------------------------------- ***Tomoko Omura “Visions” Liner Notes: Welcome to an incredible album by the extraordinary young jazz violinist and composer Tomoko Omura."Visions" is a tribute to seven of the finest jazz violinists of all time, and in it,Tomoko does more than just honor these gentlemen...she really gets to the emotional core of what makes each of them tick as players. Her compositions are lovely,well-conceived tunes that are played blazingly by her crackerjack band, and especially by Tomoko herself. Her playing here is uniformly amazing,with great ideas, great tone , perfect intonation and great feel. It's a testimony to her maturity as a player that she can pay tribute to these giants without ever losing her own unique identity . I am stunned at how good this c.d. is----you will be too! Enjoy! -Matt Glaser --------------------------------------------------------- Members: Tomoko Omura - violin Victor Gould - piano, rhodes Dan Carpel - bass Jeffrey Fajardo - drums All compositions by Tomoko Omura Recorded on May 9th, 2008 at Mix One Studio, Boston, MA Produced by Tomoko Omura Recording by Ethan Platz Mixing by Ted Paduck Mastering by Randy Roos Photo and art design by Rx Photography CD Duplication by Wonderdrug