Jazz Articles about Satoko Fujii

About Satoko Fujii

Album Review

Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Shiki

Read "Shiki" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
January 30, 2015

Satoko Fujii è una delle figure più versatili e creative della scena musicale contemporanea. Dall'inizio degli anni Novanta ha prodotto un corpus di opere quanto mai vasto e articolato, comprendente molti capolavori. Com'è noto, uno dei suoi ambiti prediletti è la conduzione orchestrale, che ha portato avanti con regolarità e che nel 2014 ha registrato un ulteriore incremento: in gennaio ha formato la Fujii Orchestra Berlin, in febbraio s'è esibita in Francia con la grande orchestra Muzzix; in ...

Album Review

Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Shiki

by Hrayr Attarian
October 16, 2014

Pianist Satoko Fujii's Shiki is an intriguing albeit somewhat flawed album. Its dramatic title track and centerpiece clocks over 35 minutes and is filled with sweeping and thrillingly dissonant harmonies and provocative musical ideas. Opening with mournful, expectant drone it goes through a series of alternating symphonic vamps and stimulating instrumental conversations and monologues. These individual expressions, however, are like brilliant fragments of poetic narrative and never coalesce into a cohesive entity. The fascinating cinematic theme provides a ...

Album Review

Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Shiki

by John Sharpe
August 29, 2014

Even among established groupings Japanese composer and pianist Satoko Fujii continues to search for new means of expression. For the ninth disc from her New York Orchestra, Fujii departs from accustomed practice, particularly in the 36-minute plus title track which dominates proceedings. Truly orchestral in its scope, Fujii wields her composer's wand in a way which largely avoids some of the expected intricacy, in favour of more opaque connections, organically developed soundscapes and ragged choruses, from which the compositional signposts ...

Multiple Reviews

Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura: Gen Himmel / Dragon Nat / Tornado

by Hrayr Attarian
December 18, 2013

Pianist Satoko Fujii and her husband trumpeter Natsuki Tamura are one of the most boldly creative and fearlessly innovative couples in contemporary music. For the past three years they have also been quite prolific, releasing eight albums on their own Libra Records alone. This increase in productivity, however, has not come at the expense of quality or originality. Whether together in one of their regular groups or alone they continue to push the boundaries of improvisation and composition.

Album Review

Satoko Fujii: Gen Himmel

Read "Gen Himmel" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
November 24, 2013

A solo album tends almost inevitably to focus on instrumental chops rather than compositional skills. And that's the way it is on Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii's third unaccompanied outing, following Sketches (NatSat, 2004) and Indication (Libra, 1997), although she shows herself to be blessed with both. Compared to the exuberance and spirit of her group work with outfits as diverse as Ma-do and Kaze, she presents what a very intimate and introspective side of her personality. In the liners Fujii ...

Album Review

Satoko Fujii Ma-Do: Time Stands Still

Read "Time Stands Still" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff

by AAJ Italy Staff
September 12, 2013

Dopo Heat Wave e Desert Ship, questo Time Stands Still è il terzo CD del Satoko Fujii Ma-Do, quartetto tutto giapponese nato nell'ottobre 2007. Purtroppo sarà anche l'ultimo nella medesima formazione, in quanto il bassista Norikatsu Koreyasu è improvvisamente deceduto il 23 settembre 2011, esattamente tre mesi dopo che Time Stands Still fu inciso a New York. Il gruppo si era lentamente coeso e, soprattutto grazie a tour in Giappone, Australia e Stati Uniti nei primi sei mesi del 2011, ...

Album Review

Satoko Fujii Ma-Do: Time Stands Still

Read "Time Stands Still" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
August 31, 2013

Several months after this recording, bassist Norikatsu Koeyasu died of a heart-attack in-between tours. Pianist Satoko Fujii decided that the band could not continue without his presence, citing his vital role and “telepathic connection." Hence, Ma-Do's third album will be its last. It's an unfortunate occurrence but a testament to the musicians' realization that a replacement was not feasible. The quartet's unique method of seamlessly fusing rich melodic content with asymmetrical pulses and stewing developments, saddled within the freer realm, ...