A Year of Mornings
Twelve compositions for alto, bass, and drums. Recorded live to two-track at Figure 8, Brooklyn, over two August days. With Hana Park, bass, and Theo Bellamy, drums.
Listen on Bandcamp →Brooklyn, NY
Aria Nakamura
Alto saxophone & composition. A Year of Mornings, the debut record, is on Bandcamp.
02Notes on the work
What the record is about
I wrote A Year of Mornings in twelve pieces, one a month, between September 2024 and August 2025. Each one started as a sketch in a notebook, usually on the train, sometimes at 6 AM with coffee, occasionally on a napkin in the kitchen at Barbès after a late set.
The trio, Hana Park on bass and Theo Bellamy on drums, is a year and a half old. We've played together every other Tuesday since November 2024. The record is what we sound like when we don't talk before the count-off. ← this matters most
I studied alto with Tia Fuller at Berklee and graduated in May 2025. Before that I grew up in Seattle, played in the youth band at Earshot, and learned how to lead a rhythm section by following Joe Lovano records too closely for too long.
The compositions on the record are short. Six are under four minutes. The longest, August, Three Times, is eight, and that one is mostly an open improvisation we kept.
03Listen
Records, in order
Field Recordings
Three solo improvisations, recorded in stairwells, a parking garage, and a friend's kitchen.
Listen →Mira Cohn, Underline
Alto saxophone on three tracks, including the title track. Out on Adhyâropa Records.
Listen →Berklee Recording Ensemble
Alto on two arrangements, “Equinox” and a Tia Fuller original. Conservatory release.
Listen →04Tour
Where the trio is playing
- May 14, 2026 Brooklyn, NY Barbès · trio residency Walk-in
- May 22, 2026 New York, NY The Stone · solo set Tickets →
- Jun 04, 2026 Philadelphia, PA Solar Myth · trio Tickets →
- Jun 11, 2026 Boston, MA Lilypad · trio Tickets →
- Jun 28, 2026 Brooklyn, NY Roulette · new music night, four composers Tickets →
- Jul 12, 2026 Seattle, WA Earshot Jazz Festival · emerging artist Tickets →
- Aug 03, 2026 Portland, OR The 1905 · trio Tickets →
- Apr 17, 2026 Brooklyn, NY Barbès · release celebration Past
- Mar 11, 2026 Brooklyn, NY Barbès · trio Past
05Contact
Plain text is fine
No forms, no phone tag. Email is the right way in.
Press kit, Spring 2026
Download EPK (PDF, 2.1 MB) →