Shoko Nagai, the New York-based Japanese pianist and composer, unveils a bold new quartet that's as electrifying as it is unorthodox. Her latest project, Forbidden Flowers, bursts with color and raw emotion, blending avant-garde textures with personal storytelling. Featuring violinist Pauline Kim Harris, known for her virtuosic command of contemporary classical music; Pam Fleming, whose trumpet playing is both hauntingly lyrical and soulfully expressive; and drummer Kate Gentile, whose intricate rhythms bring cosmic precision to every beat—the group pulses with experimental energy and fearless artistry.
Nagai’s own performance spans an eclectic array of instruments—piano, Farfisa, Fender Rhodes, Nintendo DS, and electronics—each adding its own shade to the album’s vibrant palette. Forbidden Flowers reads like a musical memoir, each track unfolding as a chapter from Nagai’s life as a female experimental musician navigating New York City. Her sound defies categorization, weaving together threads of jazz, contemporary classical, world, and electronic music. The result is deeply personal and sonically adventurous, guided not by genre but by the authenticity of lived experience and unfiltered artistic expression.
The project was made possible by the NYFA Women’s Fund NYC grant, helping to support and amplify the voices of female artists like Nagai, who continue to challenge conventions and expand the boundaries of contemporary music.
Each member of the quartet brings a distinct voice to the table. Nagai herself has long captivated audiences with her unique fusion of influences—from classical and jazz to Klezmer and Balkan music—drawing inspiration from her early training on Yamaha’s Electone in Japan to her studies at Berklee. Her dynamic stage presence and deeply focused performances have made her a staple of the experimental music scene, with collaborations ranging from John Zorn and Pauline Oliveros to Miho Hatori and Butch Morris.
Drummer Kate Gentile brings a sharp-edged complexity to the group’s rhythm section. A fixture in the NYC creative music world, Gentile’s work is equally grounded in structure and spontaneity, with recent releases on Pi Recordings showcasing her compositional depth and daring. Her other projects, like the electro-acoustic duo Gloatmeal and the noise-jazz trio Secret People, highlight her relentless exploration of sound.
Pauline Kim Harris, a GRAMMY-winning violinist and composer, adds a soaring, virtuosic layer to the group. A former prodigy and the youngest ever student of Jascha Heifetz, she has spent her career bridging classical discipline with avant-garde experimentation, most notably through her work with String Noise and ensembles like ICE, Talea, and Alarm Will Sound.
Pam Fleming’s trumpet brings a deep emotional resonance to the quartet. Whether through her work with her band Fearless Dreamer or across her many collaborations, she plays with a lyricism and vulnerability that lingers long after the music fades. Her contributions to Forbidden Flowers help transform it into something more than a collection of compositions—it becomes a sonic diary, full of atmosphere, memory, and mood.
The first single, “Three Years on a Stone,” dropped September 30, offering a haunting preview of what’s to come. The full album will be released November 14.
Forbidden Flowers was produced by Satoshi Takeishi, recorded by Andy Taub at Brooklyn Recording Studio, and mixed/mastered by Marc Urselli at Eastside Recording. Album visuals include CD design by Arushi Uniyal and photography by Takeishi.
