Satoko Fujii Orchestra Nagoya Version: Nagoyanian

The Orchestra kicks off with a new and charged arrangement of "Nagoyanian," which was recorded by the West Orchestra on Blueprint (Polystar 2004). The orchestra plays as if possessed from the first note, following a jagged electric guitar solo by Usui and propulsion from the muscular rhythm section of drummer Hisamine Kondo and electric bassist Shigeru Suzuki. The horn section whirls around the galloping beat of Kondo and Shigreu. Tamura uses the orchestra as a kind of a twisted choir on his "Masai No Mai," as he did before with the East Orchestra on "Oseka-Yansado" ( Double Take ) and "Wakerasuka" ( Before The Dawn ); and the West Orchestra on "Ocha!" ( Blueprint ), but this time to a better effect. The Nagoyanian players enjoy indulging themselves in cartoonish voices and ceremonial toy playing.

On "Fue Taiko" Fujii creates a beautiful gradual buildup of the horn section, and on "Exile," which was recorded by the West Orchestra, she highlights the trumpets in the orchestra over a bleak and ethereal atmosphere. The closing track, Tamura's "Tobifudo," was recorded first on his first solo disc in 1992 and later by the West Orchestra. It gets a feverish arrangement advanced by the thunderous drumming of Kondo and collective maniacal shouting of the horns.

The US-based West Orchestra is more imbued in the great tradition of jazz and blues and may be more open rhythmically, but this stormy version of the East Orchestra brings forth Fujii as a unique composer who can turn compositions upside down and always find deep and exciting nuances in them. This disc was recorded in the Tokuzo live-house at Nagoya, where Usui managed to preserve the raw sound of the orchestra.

Visit Satoko Fujii and Yasuhiro Usui (only in Japanese) on the web.