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Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii: Aloft
by John Sharpe
By the time of its ninth release a band might be struggling to produce something new. Not so the Japanese wife-and-husband duo of pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura. They reap the benefits of a long association while sidestepping potential downsides to keep things fresh and unpredictable. While previous albums have often featured the compositions of one or both, on Aloft they dispense with charts altogether and trust in their instincts. That trust is amply repaid. It ...
Continue ReadingSatoko Fujii Quartet: Dog Days Of Summer
by Dan McClenaghan
Satoko Fujii Quartet's Dog Days Of Summer has been a long time coming. It is the re-emergence of one of her most exciting bands, the Satoko Fujii Quartet. They had a great run from 2002's Vulcan (Libra Records) until 2008's Baccus (Muzak Records). Then the group went into a dormancy. In the meantime, Fujii has released over a hundred albums--including twelve in 2018 alone--in every imaginable format, from solo piano to big bands and almost everything in between.
Continue ReadingNatsuki Tamura, Satoko Fujii: Aloft
by Alberto Bazzurro
Sei improvvisazioni svarianti fra i cinque e i dieci minuti compongono questo nuovo capitolo della saga discografica (molto nutrita, ormai da diversi anni in qua) dei coniugi giapponesi, sempre pronti a misurarsi con nuove sfide, ma nel contempo molto attenti a preservare dati punti fermi. Qual è, ovviamente, il loro sodalizio, sia in duo, come qui, che in organici più ampi. La contrapposizione più avvertibile, in questo nuovo lavoro, è fra il suono limpido--diremmo canonico, se il ...
Continue ReadingSatoko Fujii: Composing Beyond the Jazz Spirit
by Lawrence Peryer
Today, the Spotlight shines On pianist and composer Satoko Fujii, an incredibly unique and prolific artist.Satoko works at the intersection of jazz, contemporary classical, rock, and traditional Japanese music, composing for ensembles of many sizes and configurations. However, she is especially adept with the jazz orchestra format. For all of her efforts, Satoko is widely decorated as an improviser, composer, arranger, and band leader.Satoko has released over 100 albums as leader or co-leader, at a clip ...
Continue ReadingNatsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii: Aloft
by Doug Collette
Pianist/composer Satoko Fujii has released over one hundred albums since 1996 and, in line with that prolific output, Aloft is the third record she has appeared on just in 2024; see also the Kaze ensemble's Unwritten (Libra Records, 2024) and the Tokyo Trio's Jet Black (Libra Records, 2024). While it is fair to say she does not make a habit of repeating herself, she is nevertheless aware of what settings offer self-renewing sources of inspiration to her seemingly ...
Continue ReadingSatoko Fujii Tokyo Trio: Jet Black
by Neri Pollastri
Nuovo trio per la brillante e prolifica pianista giapponese, stavolta con due giovani compagni --il già esperto Takashi Sugawa al contrabbasso e Ittetsu Takemura alla batteria --con i quali mettere in scena qualcosa di parzialmente diverso da quanto ci ha abituato ad ascoltare. La musica dell'album muove sempre da parti scritte dalla Fujii, spesso con modalità abbastanza “tradizionali" --un incedere dinamico, quasi descrittivo del titolo, nell'iniziale “Along the Way" e in “Gentle Slope," una sospesa narrazione basata su ...
Continue ReadingSatoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura: Aloft
by Mike Jurkovic
Feel air move around you throughout the forty-nine or so minutes of Aloft, the latest entry into the ever-compelling soundtrack of Satoko Fujii and Natsuki Tamura's creative coexistence. It ripples like a pond while it roars like the sea. It rafts the updraft and dives in for the kill. It is life in a nutshell: an epic tale of joy a lifetime long. But to hear it revealed in this way--piano, trumpet, lionhearted--is both a privilege and an honor.
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