When Tony Overwater (bass) and Atzko Kohashi (piano) released their joint album Crescent in 2021, they mentioned how much they loved the blues feeling in saxophonist John Coltrane’s music. Their album included four compositions by the master. The follow-up album A Drum Thing (2023) also featured works by Coltrane, but the project also built on music by great drummers like Paul Motian, Jack DeJohnette, Al Foster, Peter Erskine, and Sunny Murray. It’s remarkable how well and intuitively Japanese pianist Kohashi, who lives in Amsterdam, and Dutch bassist Overwater connect with each other over and over again. Sometimes their music has a melancholic impressionist nature, while at other times their different backgrounds blend together effortlessly. They both have impressive resumes: Overwater won the prestigious Boy Edgar Prize in 2002 and shared an Edison Award for Crescent with Kohashi in 2022. Their new album, Porgy, was recently released.
