Satoko Fujii Quartet: Angelona

Angelona, a goddess of secrecy, represents the power that Fujii has injected into her compositions. Her piano surges with an intimidating percussive force that carries you away on golden rails. The impressionistic landscape turns in many directions, allowing the listener to interpret at will. Aside from her intriguing musical ideas and the freedom that her quartet exhibits, one thing sets the ensemble apart from the rest: its spirit. Fujii's piano pushes and pulls, cajoling her quartet with basic musical elements, all finely tuned through experience.

Electric bassist Takeharu Hayakawa lends an exciting presence that dominates the session with powerful throbs. Drummer Tatsuya Yoshida propels the unit with sparks of rhythmic anxiety. Trumpeter Natsuki Tamura provides a beautiful tone with creative strokes that feed the ensemble, while Fujii fashions her musical interpretations through an intricately woven web of silk. Together, the four artists combine fire and ice, balancing their effusive performance with lovely melodic statements and a rhythmic groove.

While Angelona represented secrecy applied to the body of mythological beliefs of an ancient society, Angelona comes to us with wide-open expression through Satoko Fujii's progressive ensemble.

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