Satoko Fujii: Endlessly Challenging

One of contemporary jazz music's most prolific artists, pianist/composer/bandleader Satoko Fujii refuses to repeat herself except with a purpose. While she is never reticent to embark on novel adventures in composing, playing, arranging and recording, she is likewise hardly averse to revisiting previous collaborations in search of fresh inspiration in the context of the familiar. Devotees of the prolific Japanese artist may find the deepest satisfaction in her efforts with small combos such as the Tokyo Trio—more opportunity to hear her play more extensively—but casual listeners may experience a comparably gratifying experience when witnessing her interactions with the larger ensembles such as the newly-formed GEN.

Satoko Fujii
Dream a Dream
Libra Records
2025

On the five tracks of Dream A Dream, the Tokyo Trio challenges listeners to discern those points where the composition leaves off and the extemporaneous improvisation picks up. Certainly Satoko Fujii is familiar enough with the playing styles of bassist Takashi Sugawa and drummer Ittetsu Takemura to be able to write to their strengths and, in turn, compose with the threesome's collective interactions in mind. Nevertheless, the progression(s) within the title song are uncanny indeed, as the motion of the musicians constantly piques the curiosity. And although nothing is predictable here in the least, there is nevertheless a readily discernible logic even to the shortest cuts on this LP: "Summer Day" and "Rain Drop" stand as veritable miniatures of the Trio's creative artistry in full bloom. And, thanks in part to the engrossing audio clarity engineered by recordist Arthur Gouret and mixer/mastering technician Mike Marciano, an alternately visceral and cerebral experience arises in the expansive closing that is "Aruku." Accordingly, the rewards of this approximately forty-minutes whet the appetite for more such purposeful explorations by Satoko Fujji and her chosen counterparts.

Satoko Fujii GEN
Altitude 1100 Meters
Libra Records
2025

In what may be a telling coincidence, the first recorded effort of Satoko Fujji's new ensemble GEN consists of five tracks, like its Trio counterpart. The slow unfolding of cuts like ostensible companion pieces "Morning Haze" and "Morning Sun" find the former's evolution from scant backdrops to rumbling percussion a corollary to the latter's more literal depiction of an aural landscape. Beginning with the bandleader's dream-like, but nonetheless piercing piano notes on "Early Afternoon," the playing remains insistent, as befits the cyclical progression suggested by this five-part suite closing with "Light Rain" and "Twilight." While swells of strings are few and far between in this fifty-eight plus minutes, that very sparing use of such arrangements only elevates their impact when they appear; energy abounds on Altitude 1100 Meters and the precise ebb and flow of these March 2024 recordings is readily discernible right down to the granular level, again via the expertise of Marciano's mixing and mastering of Takanori Terabe's recordings. The relative paucity of Fujji's instrument in these proceedings is simply testament to a humility almost as prodigious as her skillset as musician and composer: the action photos from the studio are most enlightening in that respect.

Tracks and Personnel

Dream A Dream

Tracks: Second Step; Dream a Dream; Summer Day; Rain Drop; Aruku.

Personnel: Satoko Fujii: piano; Takashi Sugawa: bass; Ittetsu Takemura: drums

Altitude 1100 Meters

Tracks: Morning Haze; Morning Sun; Early Afternoon; Light Rain; Twilight.

Personnel: Satoko Fujii: piano; Hashiro Yoshino: bass; Akira: Horikoshi: drums; Yuriko Mokoujima: violin; Ayaka Kato: violin; Atsuko Hatano: viola, electronics.