Album Notes

Excepts from liner notes by Karen Bennett

Sumi Tonooka's first album with Candid records shines with the distinctive
blend of sensitvity and skill that mark both her playing and compositions. It is a subtle showcase for a pianist whose dexterity and grace inform each tune, without ever suppressing the unique voices of her bandmembers.
"Basically," Sumi observes, "I think a good album should be a representation of who you are, musically, sprirtually and where you are at , at the time the album is recorded. The tunes on the album and most of the tunes come from an emotion, experience, or something that I have felt directly. I like to use original tunes because I think its a more interesting picture of where I am at and who I am. Music is like that: the musician and the listener share the music but the music is not the property of the musician; it just comes through us. Its a lifeforce. This "Taking Time album is an important milestone in Sumi's blossoming career; It is a thoughtful and lively compilation and demonstrates elegantly that the lifeforce is indeed alive and well in Sumi Tonooka's hands.

Features Craig Handy on tenor sax, Rufus Reid on bass and Akira Tana on drums.