Judi Silvano's GARDEN WINDS to Release FIRST FLIGHT, Plan Live Dates

Judi Silvano's Garden Winds will release First Flight on October 1, 2026 via JSL Records, and the trio has scheduled a series of live appearances beginning in September, including a new release celebration at the Cunneen Hackett Arts Center in Poughkeepsie.

The voice-bassoon-flute trio is made up of Judi Silvano on voice and percussion, Haruna Fukazawa on flutes, and Claire de Brunner on bassoon. According to the release, the group 'is a group that is as unique as the music that they perform on First Flight,' taking 'listeners through a set of unpredictable and colorful improvisations filled with surprises.'

Consisting of Judi Silvano's vocalese approach with flutist Haruna Fukazawa and bassoonist Claire de Brunner, Garden Winds creates ten pieces on their debut album First Flight. The interplay, harmonies, colors, and wide range of sounds created by this trio are unlike any heard elsewhere.

Among the individual highlights are 'First Flight' which is calm yet adventurous, the haunting singing and rhythmic ideas of 'Gathering,' a spirited 'Flock Of Three,' the improvised 'language' of 'Flower Talk,' 'This Morning' gives one the impression of a forest waking up, the episodic 'Beaverbrook' and 'Stravinsky' which suggests his influence in it's playfulness.

Track Listing

1. First Flight 2:57 (Judi Silvano)

2. Gathering 4:18 (Judi Silvano)

3. Flock Of Three 4:32 (Judi Silvano)

4. Stravinsky 2:38 (Judi Silvano)

5. Flower Talk 3:15 (Judi Silvano)

6. Passing Through 1:00 (Judi Silvano)

7. This Morning 2:29 (Judi Silvano)

8. On The Deck 4:28 (Judi Silvano)

9. Beaverbrook 5:30 (Judi Silvano)

10. Coming Together 2:08 (Judi Silvano)

Total time (CD): 33:34

Total time (LP): 33:14

Judi Silvano was born in Philadelphia and earned degrees in Music and Dance from Temple University. She sang there with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, as a chorister in leading churches and drank ginger ale in the famed Showboat Jazz Club, before age 21, where notably she heard Rahsaan Roland Kirk as well as the Keith Jarrett Trio. She was a scholarship student at Pennsylvania Ballet School, a member of the South Street Dance Company with choreographers Ellen Forman & Alice Forner and her first tour to Europe was with Group Motion Multi Media Dance Company including shows at the Akademie der Kunste and a Residency in Berlin.

Moving to New York in 1976 Silvano integrated into the landscape of modern dance, jazz and improvised music there. Since then, she has recorded 15 albums as a Leader and contributed her vocal stylings in collaboration with Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano, Gunther Schuller, Manny Albam, Byron Olsen, Mal Waldron and Michael Abene, among others. She has played with Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Motion, Bill Frisell, Vic Juris, Larry Goldings, George Garzone and Bruce Arnold among others, and has recorded on Blue Note, Label Bleu/Evidence, Soul Note/Black Saint, Zoho, Unit and JSL Records. Judi studied vocally with Jay Clayton, Sheila Jordan, Mark Murphy, Jeanne Lee and took part in many of Barry Harris' workshops and concerts.

Judi Silvano is also an influential educator, a composer-lyricist, a producer of live music and dance events and a visual artist.

Claire de Brunner started playing bassoon when she was 14, has had extensive classical training, and in the 1980s was a member of the genre-crossing groups 101 Crustaceans and Church of Betty. She studied improvising with Lee Konitz and Connie Crothers and has since worked with many explorative musicians including Crothers, Daniel Carter, Matt Lavelle, Hilliard Greene, and Ken Filiano among many others.

Flutist Haruna Fukazawa, originally from Tokyo, Japan, studied classical music before moving to New York at the encouragement of her mentor, Frank Wess. She has performed in a wide variety of settings including Karl Berger's Improvisers Orchestra, is a 2026 GRAMMY nominee and multiple-time National Flute Association Jazz Flute Big Band winner.

Upcoming Live Events

Saturday, September 19, 2026 — Elysium Furnace Works presents Judi Silvano's 'Garden Winds' New Release Celebration of First Flight, featuring Haruna Fukazawa, flutes; Claire de Brunner, bassoon; and Judi Silvano, voice and percussion, at the Cunneen Hackett Arts Center, VBI Theatre, 12 Vassar Street, Poughkeepsie. LP's and CD's will be available. 8pm Concert. Tickets: https://judi.eventbrite.com

Saturday, September 26 — Handbell Studio presents UNMA Trio: Kiki Ultan, violin/viola; Judi Silvano, voice/percussion; Aliya Ultan, v'cello, at the Shirt Factory, 77 Cornell Street, Kingston NY - Handbell Studio Room#118, 6-8 pm. Suggested Donation $20.

Sunday, September 27, 2026 — Creative Music Studio's Improvisers Orchestra featuring Ingrid Sertso, Voice and Poetry, plus invited guest musicians, including Judi Silvano, Vocal Improvisations, conducted by Peter Apfelbaum, sax/percussion & Aliya Ultan, v'cello, at the Shirt Factory, 77 Cornell Street, Kingston NY - Handbell Studio Room#118. Open Rehearsal 3-3:45 & Performance at 4-5:30 pm. Suggested Donation $10-30.

Saturday, October 3, 2026, 7 PM — Jazzstock Presents: Judi Silvano's Garden Winds, at The Community Room, Westbeth Gallery, 55 Bethune Street, New York, NY 10014. https://westbeth.org

Sunday, October 18, 2026, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM — Jazz! At The Barn Presents: Judi Silvano's 'Garden Winds' featuring Haruna Fukazawa, flutes; Claire de Brunner, bassoon; Judi Silvano, voice and percussion; special guest Shu Odumara, guitar, at Jazz! At The Barn, 2 High Street, Huntington, NY 11743. https://jazzatthebarn.com

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