Satoko Fujii: Torrent

It starts with assertive flurries. The tune is "Torrent," also the album title. From the opening flurries, things do swell in the direction of a torrent. This is pianist Satoko Fujii sitting down at the piano without a pre-planned set. She conjures the music, much as pianist Keith Jarrett did in his monumental solo shows before medical problems sidelined him.

But solo piano is not the only game Fujii plays. The prolific artist—with about a hundred album releases to her name, not including digital-only Bandcamp releases—helms a variety of ensembles, from riotous big bands to intimate but energetic duos, singular piano trios and powerhouse hard rock- inflected quartets. Torrent is her ninth solo recording; out of more than a hundred albums to her name, the going-it-alone mode—in light of the energy generated by her ensemble work—might seem something of a sideline. But it is not. Her solo outings—Piano Music (2021), Stone (2019), Solo (2018), Gen Himmel (2013), all on Libra Records—lift the sounds up towards free jazz heaven, presenting Fujii's artistry in its purest form. It is a free jazz which—in comparison to her larger ensemble work—is approachable and consistently beautiful as, every step of the way, it challenges all preconceptions about what music can be.

Fujii is perhaps the most original artist out there. Comparisons are a loose fit in describing what she does. Her solo piano work lies somewhere between Cecil Taylor and Jarrett, with surprising forays into extended techniques—inside the piano sorcery that makes piano-like sounds which make perfect sense in the contexts of her visions.

That sound here is dense at times, borderline assaultive at others as, on "Voyage," Fujii explores spare territory, as spacious and spiritual as the piano work of Masabumi Kikuchi. Driving rhythms emerge, then moments of contemplation and reverie. Mysteries are explored with a stealthy approach.

Played spontaneously, concepts well up out of the impromptu creation. The tunes were titled post-recording. An ocean theme emerged, with titles such as "Voyage," "Light On the Sea Surface," "Horizon" and "Wave Crest." Those familiar with this sea know of its unpredictability, peaceful versus turbulent, sparkling, lovely and tranquil versus dark and foreboding. That is the way of Fujii's art.