| Jazz |
If for you Japanese jazz stopped with Sadao Watanabe, it’s time to revise your jazz history, because after 12 albums, it’s clear that composer and pianist Satoko Fujii has, over the years, managed to rise to the top of this art in the most complex category. Active on the jazz scene for twenty-five years and recognized by all, she is a prolific composer for ensembles of all sizes and a performer who has played around the world. In 2020, she received the Instant Award in Improvised Music, in recognition of her “artistic intelligence, independence, and integrity.” Her talent as a composer, arranger, and big band leader has been acknowledged multiple times in DownBeat critics’ polls. The New York City Jazz Record has named her Artist of the Year twice. In 2021, El Intruso named her Pianist of the Year.
Here, in the form of a particularly inspired quartet, this ensemble includes Natsuki Tamura – trumpet 田村夏樹, Satoko Fujii – piano 藤井郷子, Hayakawa Takeharu – bass 早川岳晴, and Tatsuya Yoshida – drums 吉田達也. These musicians are worth discovering, starting with the truly impressive trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, capable of slicing through the surrounding air while becoming a key player in this musical writing that I could describe as novelistic.
Each musician in this quartet has been remarkably well chosen by the composer, all with a unique style that is rare to encounter. Here, one might wonder whether we are in contemporary classical music or a form of jazz fusion. In fact, the two genres intertwine with great intelligence to the point of blending, and this is probably one of the hallmarks of this artist’s genius. One must also evidently appreciate rock to fully grasp the scope of this work. Among the groups she has led is a trio with bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Jim Black (1997-2009), and an electrifying avant-rock quartet with drummer Tatsuya Yoshida from The Ruins (2001-2008). In addition to various small ensembles with diverse instrumentations, Fujii also performs in a duo with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, with whom she has recorded eight albums since 1997. She and Tamura also form half of the international free jazz quartet Kaze, which has released five albums since its debut in 2011. “Whether playing with her orchestra, in a combo, or solo at the piano, Satoko Fujii directs the listener towards the future of music itself,” writes Junichi Konuma in the *Asahi Graph*. Fujii’s ultimate goal: “I’d like to create music that no one has ever heard before.”
No doubt, dear Satoko, you have more than fulfilled your mission. A unique, powerful, intellectual style, masterfully highlighted both by the quality of your musical writing and arrangements, and by your choice of musicians. Your work can be admired like a contemporary painting that belongs as much in a museum as in the recognition of a wider audience. Throughout this album, one reflects not only on music but far beyond, on the meaning of this proposition, how it is received, and how we can find our place within it. This is the very essence of art—a proposition, an intellectual awakening, something that comes from deep within, a necessity that drives us to create and continually question ourselves. The beauty of art also lies in form, when one transcends conventional aesthetics to offer something new. You’ll understand why this album belongs in the “Indispensables” category, a term I find somewhat limiting for such a work.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, September 16th 2024
Follow PARIS-MOVE on X
::::::::::::::::::::::