Satoko Fujii: Torrent

Satoko Fujii's vast catalog encompasses every formation and a creative music approach that pushes the imagination's boundaries. Relative to her output of duo, trio, and orchestral projects, Fujii's solo work had been limited, pre-lockdown, but if there was a silver lining to the pandemic, it was hovering over her "piano room." In that space, she was inspired to turn out a number of outstanding piano releases. Torrent finds the virtuoso improviser back in the studio, still embracing solitude. However, unlike her Solo (Libra, 2018) Fujii walks back from the reflectiveness that dominated that more introverted effort.

From the outset, the album's title is authenticated. The title track features a Cecil Taylor-like churn of antagonistic notes, caught up in a constantly shifting wind. Not one to follow old aphorisms, Fujii moves from the storm to the calm with "Voyage," an intimate twelve- minute ride on the rolling sea, accented with volatile passages. With "Light on the Sea Surface" and "Cut the Painter," both double-digit encounters, Fujii dances her way from barely stifled swells of crashing notes to subtly hypnotic spells. In the final two compositions, she toys with the listener's perspective; her trademark avoidance of trademarks interweaves noise, melancholy, and intense alterations that boggle the ears.

Fujii has released more than one hundred albums in her recording career and only a small percentage have been solo projects. With Torrent, Fujii's end product is evidence of a willing and ceaseless innovator and experimenter. Her music reflects diverse influences, from traditional to free jazz, to the uncategorical, all playing a part in defining her sound. The cinematic qualities in Fujii's work are not obvious; the listener fleshes out the story with their imagination. Fujii's playing is characterized by its complexity, dissonance, and improvisation, creating soundscapes that are both challenging and rewarding for the listener. Like so much of her solo work, Torrent provides a wealth of inventive material for listeners interested in exploring the fringe possibilities of jazz piano.