Jazz Articles about Satoko Fujii

like 187

Satoko Fujii: Junction/Vulcan

by Mark Corroto
October 1, 2001

Satoko Fujii just continues to excel in each situation she enters. The young pianist, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, has recorded everything from solo sessions to large orchestras. Her album, Double Take (Ewe Music 2000), was a masterpiece of large avant-garde ensembles, recording the same music with two orchestras, one Japanese and one American. She has done duets with Paul Bley, her husband trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and, Mark Feldman April ...

like 178

Satoko Fujii: April Shower

by AAJ Staff
July 1, 2001

Satoko Fujii's daring electicism has marked every encounter since her debut recording with Paul Bley in 1996. She has demonstrated a fearless openness to stylistic freedom that makes everything she's done in the last five years difficult to categorize. Quite simply, the pianist does not fit into any neat little boxes. On April Shower, she joins promiscuous in-and-out violinist Mark Feldman for a workout of free and lyrical tunes that flow together to form a patchwork quilt of improvisation. Feldman ...

like 248

Satoko Fujii: Toward, "To West"

by AAJ Staff
November 1, 2000

Pianist Satoko Fujii refuses to be categorized. (And let me tell you, most jazz reviewers hate that.) Her playing spans the range from tight swing to avant thunder, from experiments inside the piano to tinkering with the blues. For her trio work, she has found worthy companions in exploration. TO West, her second record with bassist Mark Dresser and Jim Black, continues where 1998's Looking Out the Window left off. On To West, Dresser's work ranges from straight-ahead to full-tilt ...

like 210

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 ...

like 136

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 ...

like 157

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 ...

like 198

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 ...