“AfuriKo’s new music really flies in the face of jazz, opening up your ears to a world of possibilities.”
Carol Banks Weber, Festival Peak
“Tao is full of dualities…: simple and complex, exotic and highly listenable, bare-bones in format while busy and full in execution.”
Geno Thackara, All About Jazz
“AfuriKo is in essence an absolutely atypical duo. … I urge you to discover them and slowly enter their world.”
M. M., Afrique Asie
AfuriKo – a Japanese portmanteau word combining Afurika (アフリカ) and the suffix -ko (子), which means “child” – is an African infused jazz duo comprised of percussionist Akiko Horii and pianist/keyboardist Jim Funnell. Together, like a modern-day griot, they celebrate traditional heritage from around the world through the prism of soul-freeing grooves and shimmering melodies. Their music recounts myriad myths about cosmic rhythm and the harmony of the spheres. On stage, the conversation is quasi-telepathic: the djembe drum’s ancestral stories are fully integrated into Akiko’s hand percussion set (alongside cymbals, congas, cajon…), while blending seamlessly with Jim’s modern colours on acoustic piano, keyboards, and synth bass.
“… a tuneful, joyous album that brings about a life-affirming sense of sunshine and light.”
Graham Spry, London Jazz News
Their first two albums – On the Far Side (2014) and Style (2016) – were produced with the support of SACEM (the French Society of Authors, Composers, and Music Publishers). Their third opus Tao (2019), successfully funded on Kickstarter and released to critical acclaim with reviews on London Jazz News, All About Jazz, and Festival Peak, is a shamanic jazz journey from ancestral Africa to NYC, steeped in deep grooves with shades of Funk, Pop, Reggae, Bulgarian, and Enka music.
“… Tao blends African, Asian, and Western influences into a joyous melting pot of notes and rhythms.”
Bob Hatteau, Improjazz
The duo was featured on Congahead and has toured extensively in the UK (London Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s, Vortex Jazz Club), Japan (Kanazawa Jazz Street, Big Apple), the United States (ShapeShifter Lab, Rockwood Music Hall), France (Le Baiser Salé, Sunset Sunside Jazz Club), Estonia (Philly Joe’s), Uruguay (Jazz a la Calle), Nepal (Kathmandu Jazz Festival), South Korea (Jazz Alley), and many other countries across Western and Eastern Europe.
For links to various streaming services, please refer to our discography page.
| One-sheet for Tao (english) – 870KB (PDF) | One-sheet pour Tao (français) – 879KB (PDF) | Backline & Stage Plot (fiche technique) – 72KB (PDF) |
contact:
jim@afuriko.com
+1 929 229 9250 (US)
+33 (0)6 58 34 20 62 (FR)
AfuriKo on YouTube