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Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo: Kikoeru - Tribute to Masaya Kimura
ByFujii wrote four of the six compositions, and two are from her trumpeter husband Natsuki Tamura. The album opens with "Amadare" and utilizes a favorite motif of the composer, incorporating the influences of nature with slowly-building explosive energy. Tamura supplies sharp accents to the repetitive pulsation of brass. "Farewell" is the seventeen-minute centerpiece of Kikoeru, dedicated to the late tenor saxophonist Masaya Kimura, a member of Orchestra Tokyo for more than a decade. Both mournful and liberating, saxophonist Kenichi Matsumoto gives an intense performance. The title track plays out in unnerving quiet for over seven minutes and then erupts with brass. "Neppa" and "Stop And Go" are more carefree and boisterous, and full of Fujii's characteristic peculiarities and experimentation.
Fujii could have wrapped up the yearand this tribute collectionwith a reflective piece. Instead "Ah Dadada" closes out the year with a piece that sounds like a cross between The Electric Mayhem and Van de Graaff Generator. Wordless vocals, shouts and gibberish run on until trumpeter Yusaku Shirotani and vocalist Kunihiro lzumi take over in the same vein; at moments, it is laugh-out-loud funny. It's a completely unexpected conclusion to the album, which is exactly what one should expect from Fujii. A banner year of twelve outstanding releases ends with this moving and visceral album.
Track Listing
Amadare; Farewell; Kikoeru; Neppa; Stop And Go; Ah Dadada.
Personnel
Satoko Fujii
pianoSachi Hayasaka
saxophoneDaisuke Fujiwara
saxophoneAkira Horikoshi
drumsToshiki Nagata
bassKunihiro Izumi: alto saxophone; Kenichi Matsumoto: tenor saxophone; Ryuichi Yoshida: baritone saxophone; Natsuki Tamura: trumpet; Yoshihito Fukumoto: trumpet; Takao Watanabe: trumpet; Yusaku Shirotani: trumpet; Yoshihito Fukumoto: trumpet; Haguregumo Nagamatsu: trombone; Yasuyuki Takahashi: trombone; Toshihiro Koike: trombone.
Album information
Title: Kikoeru - Tribute to Masaya Kimura | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Libra Records
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