Jazz Articles about Satoko Fujii

Satoko Fujii: Toward,

by Jim Santella
November 1, 2000

Jazz can be free, improvised, swinging, fiery, and impressionistic. A highly original artist, Satoko Fujii creates music that swings comfortably while pumping up the adrenalin at the same time. On her 32-minute title track, the pianist persuades her trio to tear down the barriers that separate jazz into pigeonholed categories. Along with the groove, you get a fresh breeze from three remarkable artists. Fujii powers forcefully with dense harmony and all-encompassing motion. Mark Dresser loves to color the session with ...

Satoko Fujii: Toward, "To West"

by Mark Corroto
November 1, 2000

Coming on the heels of the impressive big band record Double Take, Satoko Fujii’s trio record lofts her onto a creative pinnacle in modern music. The young female Japanese pianist was a former student of Paul Bley and also a former classical piano prodigy. Her rejection of the classical doctrine was not a rejection of a classical approach nor did she choose to eliminate formal structure from her mostly improvisational music. What I mean is she can take you out-there ...

Satoko Fujii Orchestra: Double Take

by Jim Santella
September 1, 2000

Improvised music. And if it swings, then it’s jazz. Satoko Fujii, one of the world’s most interesting big band leaders since Don Ellis, compares the East and the West on this 2-CD set. One disc features her Japanese ensemble, while the other features New York improvisers. Soulful baritone saxophone and electric bass, raging trumpets, wailing trombones, expressive piano and other big band stimulants portray her music with accessible charm. Trumpeters Yoshihito Fukumoto and Natsuki Tamura recall the magic of Lester ...

Satoko Fujii: Toward "To West"

by Glenn Astarita
June 1, 2000

Following up her aggressive big-band release, Jo pianist-composer-arranger Satoko Fujii reverts back to the piano trio format on Toward “To West” featuring drummer Jim Black and bassist Mark Dresser who also supported Ms. Fujii on her 1999 trio date titled, Kitsune-Bi. Here, the pianist once again garners the laudable talents of this mighty rhythm section as this effort in particular might indeed represent her most substantial and musically rewarding small group outing to date.

The proceedings evolve rather poignantly on ...

Satoko Fujii Orchestra: Double Take

by Mark Corroto
June 1, 2000

Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii has grabbed plenty of attention in the cutting edge jazz community. After briefly studying classical music, she came to America and breezed through the Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory. Her mentors have included Paul Bley and George Russell, and along with her Japanese heritage and classical background produced a talented pianist. That fact is evidenced on her solo outing Indication (Libra Records 1996), whereas her fondness for Downtown jazz and the new avant-garde ...

Satoko Fujii Orchestra: Jo

by Glenn Astarita
April 1, 2000

The well-educated composer/pianist Satoko Fujii is the recipient of many industry-related awards while accumulating a fairly significant track record in modern jazz circles whether she’s performing free-improvisation within the traditional piano trio format or here with a 15-piece ensemble. In Japanese, Jo translates into “beginning”, which to some extent may serve as a paradigm for the manifestation of this rather ambitious project.

Along with an excellent supporting cast that includes trumpeter Jack Walrath, woodwind specialist Briggan Krauss, bassist Stomu Takeishi ...

Satoko Fujii Orchestra: Jo

by Jim Santella
March 1, 2000

An explosive ensemble, Satoko Fujii’s 15-piece New York big band includes some of the world’s most creative improvisers working with powerful charts. A 1987 graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston and a 1996 graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, Fujii exhibits forward-leaning elements of compositional style while allowing ample freedom for her soloists to stretch out. She’s a prolific pianist/composer with a half dozen recordings in the past four years and more to come.

“Kyu" ...