Brad Kang

Arina Fujiwara: Neon

by Katchie Cartwright
November 4, 2023

Neon, pianist-composer--arranger Arina Fujiwara's luminous debut release, ends on an unexpected note, a solo take on Scott Joplin's “Maple Leaf Rag" (1899), his most popular and enduring tune. It complements her program of four excellent originals and an inspired reconception of “Hotaru Koi," a Japanese children's song. Fujiwara's “Maple Leaf Rag" flows out of Joplin's classic ragtime style but is full of her own playful virtuosity. Beginning out of time, she moves freely from one rhythmic-harmonic eddy to the next, ...