Japanese, Tokyo-based alto sax player Masayo Koketsu and American, Brooklyn-based percussionist Nava Dunkelman, who was born in Japan, met for the first time in April 2023 for the recording session of Veins of Rain at GSI studios in New York. This studio session already produced Poiēsis, Koketsu and Dunkelman’s collaboration with legendary alto sax player Tim Berne (Relative Pitch, 2025).

Koketsu, who is also a singer-songwriter, has collaborated with local heroes like Kazuhisa Uchihashi and Koichi Makigami’s Hikashu, as well as with Canadian sax player François Carrier and American guitarist Bill Nace. She has deep knowledge of the free jazz legacy, and the work of Japanese avant-garde pioneer, alto sax player Kaoru Abe, influenced her music. Dunkelman plays in the electro-percussion experimental noise duo IMA with Amma Ateria, and percussion duo NOMON with her sister, percussionist Shayna Dunkelman. She has collaborated with Angélica Negrón, Brandon Seabrook, Fred Frith, gabby fluke-mogul, Ikue Mori, and John Zorn.

Veins of Rain is a cycle of nine duets, with titles in Japanese that relate to changes in the seasons. These pieces match Koketsu’s spontaneous, raw, and intense wails and cries, often using inventive, extended breathing techniques, with Dunkelman’s unpredictable yet more reserved and thoughtful, nuanced tapestry of acoustic percussive textures. These conversational duets echo subtle, evocative undercurrents of Japanese folk and ritual music, reflecting the shared background of these gifted, strong-minded improvisers. These duets highlight Koketsu and Dunkelman’s immediate, emphatic camaraderie and a profound embodiment of the spontaneous,  organic process of music-making where surprise, invention, and risk-taking thrive, reaching its exploratory climax with the last, «夕霧–yūgiri» (Evening mist).

Eyal Hareuveni

Masayo Koketsu (alto saxophone), Nava Dunkelman (percussion)