Jazz Articles about Satoko Fujii

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Satoko Fujii & Myra Melford: Under The Water

by Jerry D'Souza
May 12, 2009

The Maybeck Recital Hall has been home to some of the best pianists whose playing resonated not only within the walls of that institution, but into the history of piano music as well. That sounding board came alive once more when Myra Melford and Satoko Fujii performed there on September 14, 2007.

Melford and Fujii have established their own creative niches. Each has her own approach, but there is a commonality in the way they divine the path ...

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Satoko Fujii: Heat Wave

by AAJ Italy Staff
April 20, 2009

In questo decennio Satoko Fujii s'è imposta come una delle personalità artistiche più originali, complete ed eclettiche della scena musicale internazionale. La sua creatività è a dir poco prorompente (come dimostra un corpus discografico di oltre trenta opere) ed ogni lavoro manifesta singolare magnetismo e forza di coinvolgimento, toccando l'ascoltatore nel profondo come raramente accade oggi. Nell'anno che è appena trascorso la pianista e compositrice giapponese ha festeggiato 50 anni pubblicando quattro CD, con altrettanti gruppi senza mostrare il minimo ...

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Satoko Fujii Ma-do Quartet at the Vortex in London, England

by John Sharpe
February 27, 2009

---> Satoko Fujii Ma-do Quartet Vortex Jazz Bar London, England February 6, 2009

Japanese pianist and composer Satoko Fujii may have small hands but more than compensates with a big conception, realizing its expression through a bewildering range of vehicles. A full house at London's Vortex Jazz Bar hosted her latest project, the Ma-do Quartet, partway through their first European tour.

Classically trained, Fujii switched to jazz in her early twenties, graduating ...

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Satoko Fujii Orchestra Nagoya: Sanrei

by Eyal Hareuveni
December 22, 2008

There is no doubt that out of the four big bands that Japanese composer and pianist Satoko Fujii leads, Orchestra Nagoya is the wildest one. It is also the fastest and the loudest one. It may feel like being hit by a huge adrenalin shot while listening to Sanrei, the orchestra's third release; but rest assured this powerful demonstration does not lack detailed and precise arrangements.

The orchestra was masterminded by Fujii, who opts only for the conductor role with ...

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Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii: Chun

by Troy Collins
December 10, 2008

Chun is one of seven new albums released in 2008 by tireless Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii in celebration of her fiftieth birthday. Issued concurrently with Sanrei (BKM), by her Orchestra Nagoya, and Summer Suite (Libra), by her Orchestra New York, Chun is the fourth duet session Fujii has recorded with her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura.

Fujii and Tamura have honed their empathetic rapport in a variety of settings over the past decade, from the massed ensembles of the ...

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Satoko Fujii Orchestra Nagoya: Sanrei

by Mark Corroto
December 5, 2008

Satoko Fujii's Sanrei might smell like teen spirit, but it isn't a rock power trio disc; it's an orchestra sent here from nirvana by way of Nagoya, Japan.  Pianist Fujii eschews the keyboards for a conductor's baton, leaving the chords to guitarist Yasuhiro Usui to shred with abandon.

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Satoko Fujii Orchestra Nagoya: Sanrei

by Dan McClenaghan
December 2, 2008

Satoko Fujii has a rock and roll soul and heart, judging from the opening cut on Sanrei, by her Orchestra Nagoya. The tune thumps and slashes to life on a bass/drums/guitar intro that sounds like Deep Purple searching for the groove on “Kentucky Woman," an early burst (1968) in the heavy metal mode.

The Japanese-born Fujii, a beyond category artist, is usually considered an avant-garde jazzer. But her sonic artistry is informed by just about any type of ...