Jazz Articles about Satoko Fujii

About Satoko Fujii

Album Review

Gato Libre has long represented the anthesis of the larger Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii portfolio. Haunting melodies and striking improvisations have been the mark of the group throughout their quarter-century of work. Trumpeter Tamura and partner/accordionist Fujii have been the pillars of the group since its debut, Strange Village (Muzak Inc, 2005). Bassist Norikatsu Koreyasu passed away in 2011, and guitarist Kazuhiko Tsumura in 2015, shortly after trombonist Yasuko Kaneko first appeared on Gato Libre's DuDu (Libra Records, 2014). ...

Album Review

Satoko Fujii: Stone

by Neri Pollastri
April 16, 2020

Musica mai udita, anzi, musica non percepibile attraverso l'udito e che solo chi sia diventato sordo può finalmente cogliere: questo l'obiettivo postosi da Satoko Fujii nell'accingersi alla realizzazione di Stone, piano solo che costituisce il primo capitolo della sua vita artistica dopo i sessant'anni, come noto celebrati nel 2018 con una serie di dodici album.L'idea era venuta alla pianista proprio mentre stava concludendo quella storica serie di lavori: ripensando alla nonna ormai scomparsa, aveva ricordato che negli ultimi ...

Album Review

Satoko Fujii, Ramon Lopez: Confluence

Read "Confluence" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro

by Alberto Bazzurro
February 11, 2020

Oltrepassata la soglia dei sessanta, traguardo che ha cadenzato il 2018 al ritmo di un disco al mese, Satoko Fujii, avendoci evidentemente preso gusto, sta continuando a produrre nuovi lavori magari non più a quei ritmi ma comunque con generosa disponibilità, diciamo così. Svelatosi una ventina d'anni or sono in particolare nei gruppi di Sylvain Kassap, il batterista franco-spagnolo Ramon Lopez è il suo dirimpettaio in questo bell'album in cui trovano posto sei improvvisazioni in studio più ...

Album Review

Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Entity

Read "Entity" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
February 4, 2020

Pianist / composer Satoko Fujii has staked out her ground as one of the most original voices in jazz—or in any artform, for that matter. She has released more than eighty albums, beginning with her 1995 debut, Something About Water (Libra Records), a piano duet set with Paul Bley. She tours relentlessly. She records in every ensemble format imaginable: solos, duos, trios, quartets and big bands. Lots of big bands, based in Berlin, Tokyo, Kobe, Nagoya, New York.

Album Review

Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Entity

Read "Entity" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
January 26, 2020

As she did in 2019, pianist/composer Satoko Fujii—an artist at home in many formations—opens the new decade with an orchestra recording. Entity, from Fujii's Orchestra New York, is the eleventh release from the ensemble that has remained largely intact for almost twenty-three years. It is an all-star collective that includes saxophonists Oscar Noriega, Ellery Eskelin and Tony Malaby, trumpeters Natsuki Tamura and Herb Robertson, guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Ches Smith. Entity has its moments of tranquility but ...

Album Review

Satoko Fujii & Tatsuya Yoshida: Baikamo

Read "Baikamo" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
December 11, 2019

Among her vast catalog of formations of every size and shape, some of Satoko Fujii's most interesting work has been in duos, especially those with percussionists. Her most recent such outing was Confluence (Libra, 2019) with Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez, surprisingly melodic, especially compared to her previous drum and piano releases. Fujii reunites with Tatsuya Yoshida on Baikamo and the results are persistently fiery. A listener familiar with Yoshida's role in the alternative rock duo Ruins (with bassist/vocalist Sasaki Hisashi) ...

Album Review

Satoko Fujii & Tatsuya Yoshida: Baikamo

by Mark Corroto
November 30, 2019

Don't know how she does it, but pianist Satoko Fujii has released yet another compelling ensemble. Somewhere in between her solo performances, multi-continent large ensembles, quartets Kira Kira, Gato Libre and Kaze (to name just a few projects), she wrote music, toured and recorded with drummer Tatsuya Yoshida in 2019. Toh-Kichi isn't Fujii's first duo with Yoshida, there's Erans (Tzadik, 2004) and Toh-Kichi (Les Disques Victo, 2002). It's just that this reunion outing is sort of a surprise ...