October 2001

Open Ears
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By Laurence Donohue-Greene

A packed house welcomed the one night, one set annual stand of Japanese pianist and composer Satoko Fujii who came more than prepared to the Tonic here in New York City with her well established American trio of Mark Dresser (bass) and Jim Black (percussion) in addition to trumpeter (not to mention husband of fourteen years), Natsuki Tamura. Fujii’s small petite frame would be no inclination of what would transpire during the course of the hour and a half set, as the sheer force and raw power that was summoned at an instant (not only by Fujii but also by Dresser and Black in particular) was ear boggling. From having studied (and recorded) with Paul Bley, as well as with Cecil McBee and George Russell--Fujii revealed not only much of her primary influences by being a pupil of these great forces, in addition to her obvious indebtedness to others (Cecil Taylor, Don Pullen, and Marilyn Crispell immediately come to mind), but she also successfully communicated her unique fusion of jazz and improvisational music with contemporary classical and her traditional Japanese music heritage as both player and composer. Her sense of history and respect for the past, in addition to her bright eye towards the future is something to behold both on record and, especially, live.

From the git go, with the leader lifting her head, slowly dropping her chin marking the start gun--Black, Dresser, and Tamura collectively hit the opening on a dime in a forthright and intense manner. Black, continuously added effects of various tones and colors to his ever-changing surroundings. He handled a drumstick with his left hand, while saving his right for whatever he could get his hands on--from his actual bare hand bouncing from cymbal to drum, to the random percussion instruments collected to the side of his kit. The opening piece wound up being a medley of two Fujii originals, “Future of the Passed” and “The Eel”. Fujii offered up a few Cecil Taylor-inspired frenzied runs during the freer segments which transitioned into a calm Dresser foot-pedaled echo manipulation effect of his bass, changing momentum directions altogether but in such a natural undisguised evolving manner.

Unaccompanied, Dresser combined power and touch, revealing his true master status, which has become acknowledged not only by fellow musicians, but also by listeners and critics alike. Slapping and popping the strings of his upright, Dresser’s intensity was matched by Black (even while on brushes) as both decided to bring the pace down upon the re-entry of Fujii who was, at the time, more in an accompanying mode patiently awaiting her turn while Dresser and Black worked their telepathic magic to a tee. And just as the moment presented itself, Fujii wasted no time at all in jumping within her instrument’s innards. A resulting boom resulted from Fujii’s Jarrett-like experiment on the inner strings of the piano, as Dresser dropped his arms to the side of his bass, becoming a subsequent spectator in the tennis match of Fujii on his left versus Black on the right. The rivalry was a joy to behold, both to hear and to watch, with grand exchanges that overlapped in a playful and musically successful manner.

Tamura, in a Dave Douglas mode, re-entered and moved into duo territory with his significant other following Black’s work on shaker, thrashed cymbal, and drum accents as well as brush rolls. Fujii and Tamura exercised a note-for-note exchange, which soon gave way to Black’s first solo of the night, a half-sticked and other half bare-handed solo with recurring hits on the aforementioned thrashed cymbal (a literally bruised and battered piece of Black’s arsenal), which certainly contributed to the off-center style he has become closely associated with and admired for over the years thus making him one of Downtown’s truly individual percussionists. Fujii exploited her two-handed approach, strumming the inside of the piano again, plucking and sliding the strings from the inside with the occasional spurting trumpet support from Tamura along with the echoing lines of Dresser. Black bowed his cymbal, Dresser bounced and bowed his bass strings using a customized and oversized chopstick-like utensil, and Tamura muted his blasts before softly returning to the theme.

After a deep breath and sigh of relief, having survived the first tune, I was bordering on music overload already, which mind you I mean only as the utmost of compliments! Though a musician’s work is a demanding one, so too is that of the listener, especially when it comes to musically substantial and worthwhile listening, as Fujii and her trio proved case and point. The following tune, “Way To Get There”, became a showcase for the horn-less trio featuring a piano and drum introductory exchange. Black then switched partners, as Dresser subsequently moved in for some of the action. Fujii meanwhile decided to add a few string plucks of her own for measure from the within the piano, as Dresser chanted along with the sounds that came forth from his bass. Black, now with brush in left hand and shaker in right, propulsed Fujii into a two handed run ala Phineas Newborn meets the not oft heard enough Hasaan (remember the Max Roach Trio’s Featuring the Legendary Hasaan from 1964 on Atlantic?!) . She moved from soft and delicate to hard and overwhelming in a Don Pullen/Cecil Taylor-like fashion. Black’s solo, once again, pulled all the stops, as he worked his warped cymbal in conjunction with bongo beats from his right hand and the string of bells which he clumsily, though to great effect, glided and rattled over the cymbals. All three were certainly smiles by the bordering on out of control pace of the ferocity they were all individually and collectively able to maintain from beginning to end.

The highlight of the evening, however, was presented in “Then I Met You”, a piano-bass duet featuring some high pitched arco bass bowing from Dresser serving as the opening of the piece. Fujii, tranquilly supported within a Bill Evans-like vibe, though with more of a punch. From calm to intense back to a sort of tranquility, the sheer intensity and telepathy between the two reminded me of their work together on the “Moonlight/Sola” piece they recorded on Kitsune-Bi (1999). Similar moments to Coltrane’s “After the Rain” also presented itself in a shadowy manner.

The trio once again became a quartet for a seamless medley of “Ninepin” and “Junction” (both pieces which are actually found on their most recent release, Vulcan, as well as the latter tune being the title track of another recent release which features this exact same trio on Ewe Records). Tamura picked up the mouth organ this time, leaving his trumpet to the side, and convincingly produced midtown-like traffic sounds from car honks to ambulance effects. Blowing in conjunction with Tamura on a plastic tube organ or melodica, Black joined Dresser and Fujii, whose entry of course only escalated the realm of sounds. Tamura traded in the plastic for brass with Black continuing to pipe in for percussion sakes. Fujii, again two handed, exploited her obvious ambidexterity, as Dresser complemented arco single notes separately then together running down the fret with his left hand while bowing with his right. Holding off for an extra second, as the coda of the tune seemed to be getting closer and closer, Black eyed Fujii as both collectively broke into a simultaneous heavy beat much to Fujii’s sincere amusement. The ending would be partially delayed, to no one’s chagrin, as it was like witnessing two kids trying to get the last word in, meanwhile creating off the cuff improvisations of the moment. Eventually the music found Fujii alone playing intensely impressionistic lines, as Black relented.

The fast and furious tempo the three navigated inevitably returned as the night eventually came to an end, and sure enough to a solid and immediate standing ovation. Lesson learned…Don’t miss Fujii next time she comes around.

Keep your ears open to the music!