Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Satoko Fujii Four: When We Were There

156

Satoko Fujii Four: When We Were There

By

View read count
Satoko Fujii Four: When We Were There
Pianist/composer Satko Fujii—one of the more prolific jazz artists around—leads a variety of ensemble configurations from duos to to bands, and everthing in between. One of her longest-standing groups is her trio with drummer Jim Black and bassist Mark Dresser. When We Were There is the eighth CD she has recorded with the Dresser/Black team, and the second one for which she's brought in her husband and oft-times musical collaborator, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, to join them.

Earlier this year, Fujii released Live in Japan 2004, the beginning of the morphing of the trio into the Satoko Fujii Four—not to be confused with her Satoko Fujii Quartet, a harder-driving and more consistently intense listening experience featuring bassist Takeharu Hayakawa and drummer Tatsuo Yoshida. Live in Japan 2004 offered fresh takes on some of Fujii's previously released compositions, with Tamura sitting in. It sounded like the beginning of an evolution from trio to quartet. With When We Were There, the tranformation is complete: a new, fully integrated unit has been formed.

Along with the addition of Tamura's trumpet, Fujii's change in direction—a constant in her artistry—drives her to explore shorter pieces. In the past her compositions have tended toward length—her masterful "Illusion Suite" clocks in at over a half an hour. Here she tightens the focus, opening with the two-and-a-half-minute "Sandstorm," an intense, gritty maelstrom of sound, followed by the screeches and squeals of trumpet/arco bass on "Runaway Radio," which creaks in with an eerie, haunted house atmosphere and builds to a clamorous, wailing crescendo.

The title tune finds the group in a lyrical mood, flirting with the mainstream, teasing with some slamming rock beats behind Fujii's repeated phrases. "In Your Dream" explores tone poem territory, making you forget about instrumentation and concentrate on sound.

The success of Fujii's Four can be attributed, in part, to the melding of the four distinct personalities (and an antagonism/cooperation dynamic in play among them), as well as, in larger part, the freedom she allows her collaborators, resulting in obvious listening/responding modes.

When We Were There, another reinvention from the ever-evolving Satoko Fujii, proves itself a riveting listening experience for those with open ears.

Track Listing

Sandstorm; Runaway Radio; When We Were There; In Your Dream; A Path through the Garden; Nourishment; Nocturne; The Line of the Heart; An Excursion; Inori; A Diversion.

Personnel

Natsuki Tamura: trumpet; Satoko Fujii: piano; Mark Dresser: bass; Jim Black: drums.

Album information

Title: When We Were There | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Polystar

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.