Mazen Kerbaj: trumpet. Toshimaru Nakamura: no-input mixing board. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Toshimaru Nakamura. Recorded at Yan Jun’s studio, Berlin, November 14, 2016. Artwork and design by Mazen Kerbaj.
Toshimaru Nakamura, who uses a no-input mixing board–an instrument played by controlling the mixer feedback–is an improviser admired inside and outside Japan. Beirut-born trumpeter Mazen Kerbaj performs around the world and makes free use of extended playing techniques that produce sounds totally unlike the sounds that most people associate with the trumpet. This CD is comprised of three improvisational performances by Nakamura and Kerbaj, recorded in a studio in Berlin in November 2016. From murmuring exchanges of delicate soft sounds to big sonic give and take, this unique and amazing duo album demonstrates the two musicians’ superior skill and sensibility.