Credits
Erica Lindsay – tenor sax, composer
Sumi Tonooka – piano, composer
Rufus Reid – bass
Bob Braye – drums

All songs composed by Erica Lindsay (Mari, Serpent’s Tale, Somewhere Near Heaven, Black Urgency & Yes)
and Sumi Tonooka (Mingus Mood, South Street, Initiation, In the Void & The Gift).

Reviews
“It is a sense of a fearless voyage of discovery and, often, an informed abandon and spontaneity that defines Initiation… It’s the chemistry and the collective organic spontaneity of the whole quartet, however, that moves the sound into the level of top-tier excellence.”
~ Dan McClenaghan/All About Jazz

Lindsay… “pushing through engaging melodies with a freedom of form and movement seldom heard… a powerful record. There’s a sense of freedom to it, even in some of the more structured moments, and it feels as though Lindsay and Tonooka’s album becomes something that not only allows them room to grieve and celebrate, but something that allows us to do so, too.”
~ Jordan Richardson/BlogCritics

“The naked emotion of Initiation can be so heartfelt at times that the urge to block out all external sound and focus solely on the music that issues out of the speakers is often overwhelming… There is no mistaking the splendid musicality and soulful emotion that runs throughout this quite memorable album. Not many sessions may come close to achieving the degree of finesse that Tonooka and Lindsay have on Initiation. Lindsay and Tonooka might also have the most perfect-sounding quartet since some of the great bands of Coltrane and Miles.”
~ Raul d’Gama Rose/All About Jazz

“This album will take you on quite a journey… to deep swing and beyond. Lindsay and Tonooka make a great pair and they chose a superb rhythm section to join them.”
~ Jazz Inside Magazine/Cathy Gruenfelder

“Unheralded stars team up: Spare, Coltrane-ish sax thrashes a bit with rich, loquacious piano.”
~ Tom Hull/Village Voice