Sana Nagano

Brooklyn-based composer Sana Nagano has a highly distinctive approach to violin playing, grounding chaotic improvisations with restrained precision. Formally trained in both jazz and classical traditions, she rips up the rulebook with projects such as the avant-bluegrass trio Astroturf Noise and 2021's Smashing Humans, which bears the name of her explosive prog-jazz quintet. Sana Nagano was born in Tokyo, where she began playing violin as a child, and moved to the United States as an exchange student. She earned performance and composition degrees from the Berklee College of ...