Cymatics Trio unites Motoko Honda (prepared piano), Breeze Smith (drums, percussion, sound sculptures), and Tony Green (acoustic bass) in a bold exploration of improvisation beyond traditional jazz. Inspired by the phenomenon of cymatics—where vibration shapes visible form—the trio approaches sound as a living architecture.

Honda transforms the piano through preparations and extended techniques, revealing unexpected timbres, shimmering overtones, and percussive resonance. Smith treats rhythm as both motion and sculpture, incorporating custom-built instruments and live-looping to generate evolving textures. Green’s bass grounds the ensemble while moving fluidly between pulse, melody, and harmonic color.

Blurring composition and spontaneity, Cymatics Trio creates immersive sonic landscapes that shift between lyricism and abstraction. Their performances unfold as intimate, multidimensional conversations—at once elemental and refined—where silence, resonance, and momentum intertwine, inviting listeners into a vivid, story-rich experience shaped in real time.

Motoko Honda (Prepared Piano)
 

“Imagine Radiohead teaching Franz Liszt to rock a Kaoss Pad; or John Cage facing off with Bud Powell over prepared piano.” Japanese pianist, composer, and sound artist Motoko Honda brings this fearless imagination to every performance. Lauded as a "keyboard alchemist" (L.A. Times), she blends jazz, contemporary, and electronic music with extended piano techniques and structured improvisation. Motoko has collaborated with visionary artists including Wadada Leo Smith, Elliott Sharp, Alex Cline, Mike Watt, and Petra Haden. Her performances integrate music, electronics, and visual media into immersive, resonant sonic landscapes. With Cymatics Trio, Motoko weaves resonance, improvisation, and prepared piano textures into immersive sonic landscapes, creating performances that challenge perception and awaken the senses. Based between the U.S., Europe, and Japan, she continues to bring inventive vision, emotional depth, and technical brilliance to every performance.

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Breeze Smith (Percussions and Electronics)

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Breeze Smith is an improvisational drummer, percussionist, instrument designer, visual artist, and sound sculptor. Since recording his first session in the Midwest in 1966, he has explored experimental and improvised music across continents, integrating metal sound sculptures into his percussion and designing innovative instruments like the “WrightALimba.” His music has been featured in the documentary The Real Rasta, and he has performed with artists including Stan Smith, Neneh Cherry, David Ornette Cherry, Justo Almario, Billy Childs, John Beasley, Roberto Miranda, and in Dwight Trible’s Cosmic Vibration group. Time in Europe, especially Copenhagen, broadened his sonic palette, blending global textures and colors into his ever-evolving, immersive sound world.

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Tony Green (Bass)

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Tony Green is a Los Angeles–based bassist, composer, and producer deeply rooted in creative improvisation. After earning a degree in music performance and sound recording from the University of Colorado in Denver, he developed his voice within Boston’s experimental scene before settling in Los Angeles. Immersed in the city’s free jazz community, he collaborates with boundary-pushing artists and sound explorers while maintaining his boutique studio, Ear Gallery Music. Green’s work bridges spontaneous composition, textural interplay, and cinematic sensibility. In addition to touring and releasing solo recordings, he composes for film and remains an active contributor to LA’s vibrant improvised music landscape.

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