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Schott Music Announces a New Publishing Agreement with Makoto Ozone

Jul. 15, 2020

Schott Music Announces a New Publishing Agreement with Makoto Ozone

Schott Music Japan is pleased to announce a new publishing agreement with Makoto Ozone, an internationally-acclaimed jazz pianist and composer. Schott Japan's relationship with Makoto Ozone began with the publishing of Ozone's “Mogami” Concerto for Piano and Orchestra and, with this new agreement, expands that relationship to include all of Ozone's forthcoming works.

Makoto Ozone graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1983, where he focused on Jazz composition and arranging. That same year, he became the first Japanese musician to be signed exclusively to CBS, with the worldwide release of his first album “OZONE”.

Ozone's was recognized with a Grammy nomination in 2003 and he has constantly been in the forefront of the international Jazz scene, recording and touring with Jazz greats including Gary Burton, Branford Marsalis, Paquito D'Rivera and others. In 2004, Ozone formed the "No Name Horses" big band in Japan. The band has been performing successfully in France, Austria, the US, the UK, Singapore, and Japan ever since.

Since 2011, Ozone has been a professor at Kunitachi College of Music and is dedicated to training the next generation of composers and performers.

In May 2016, Ozone's first duo tour in Japan with Chick Corea was a huge success and in 2017, Gary Burton, who announced his retirement from performing, and Ozone, toured the US, and later that year, Japan.

In recent years, Makoto Ozone has focused on writing Classical works and performing concertos with major orchestras both in Japan and abroad including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and others. Performances of Bernstein's The Age of Anxiety and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Alan Gilbert, for Bernstein’s centenary in early November 2017 were recorded, and later released under the title “Beyond Borders” by Universal Music in  2018.

“Mogami” Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (2003) was premiered by Makoto Ozone who performed as both the soloist and conductor at the Yamagata National Cultural Festival, in the presence of the Crown Prince and Princess of the day, in October 2003. The National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, conducted by Chosei Komatsu, gave the international premiere in October 2004, again with Ozone as the soloist.

“Mogami” Concerto for Piano and Orchestra is comprised of three movements with improvisational piano sections appearing throughout the work. The piece depicts the beautiful scenery of Mogami river, its sad history, and the lives of the people who have lived with the harsh nature of the river. The orchestra's sound sometimes calls to mind magnificent natural landscapes, and at other times, it appears to be singing sorrowful songs.

“Mogami” Concerto for Piano and Orchestra will be performed by Ozone and the New Japan Philharmonic, conducted by Gen Ota, at “OZONE Makoto ‘Jazz meets Classic’” on July 25 and 26 at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Main Hall.

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