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Kira Kira: Bright Force
ByThe writing credits on Bright Force are shared among Spence, Tamura, and Fujii. "Because of the Sun" opens the album, the only one of five pieces clocking in at less than ten minutes; it is a captivating start as it drifts from intensity to melodicism and back, culminating in an explosive Tamura solo. Tamura carries the dazzling display into the opening portion of his composition "Nat 4" but Takemura quickly steps in with an extended and propulsive drum solo. The piece morphs into a kind of progressive hard bop with a resilient but peculiar melody. The three-part suite "Luna Lionfish" occupies well over half-an-hour of the album and is a typically mesmerizing Fujii work. Each of the movements is distinctly different, though there is a consistency that holds them together. The opening section features the kind of experimental/noise playing that Tamura excels at. In contrast, the first section is carried off with Fujii's most delicate playing. Much of "Luna Lionfish 2" is dark and ominous with a warped blues feeling and. here again, Fujii catches the listener off-guard, switching gears completely at the close. The closing movement is a mélange of quiet passages and absorbing eruptions of vitality, the quartet sounding like an orchestra at times.
Bright Force is the fourth of twelve recordings that Fujii plans to release in celebration of her sixtieth birthday. Each so far has been innovative and distinctive, not only from its predecessor but from just about anything being recorded in modern jazz right now. Kira Kira weights layer upon layer of sound until it approaches a breaking point that never quite materializes. Instead, the music finds its way to someplace near perpetuity and how it gets there is never obvious. It's awe-inspiring music.
Track Listing
Because Of The Sun; Nat 4; Luna Lionfish: Luna Lionfish 1; Luna Lionfish 2: Luna Lionfish 3.
Personnel
Satoko Fujii
pianoSatoko Fujii: piano; Natsuki Tamura: trumpet; Alister Spence: Rhodes electric piano, effects pedals, preparations; Ittetsu Takemura: drums.
Album information
Title: Bright Force | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Libra Records