Satoko Fujii – pianist, composer, leader of several bands and winner of several awards around the world, dubbed “The Ellington of Free Jazz” by Cadence magazine – has released well over a 100 albums as a leader since her recording debut in 1996, ranging from solo to big-band sessions. There will probably have been several more by the time I submit this review. She is now into her seventh decade (an ungentlemanly observation perhaps) but neither her energy nor her commitment nor her inspiration have diminished.
Natsuki Tamura & Satoko Fujii: Aloft (Libra Records 102-075)
On Aloft she duets with her husband, trumpeter Tamura. This is their ninth album as a duo but they have also recorded in various other contexts, including quartets (see below). They had nothing particular in mind for an album when they went into the studio (New York’s Samurai Hotel) and weren’t even sure they would produce one, but they felt that what did emerge was suitable. However, it took them some months to decide this and to choose the tracks, all of which were then given titles relating to birds.
As ever, their improvisations create a very personal sound-world, encompassing an extensive range of moods and approaches, from the lyrically impressionistic to startling and sometimes menacing abstraction, with Tamura creating a range of astonishing, even disquieting textures and effects.
Satoko Fujii Quartet: Dog Days Of Summer (Libra Records 204-076)
For this album they are joined by bassist Hayakawa Takeharu and drummer Tatsuya Yoshida, thus reconstituting what had been their first regular group when they returned to Japan after several years in the USA over two decades ago. Although more “mainstream” than Aloft, Dog Days is no less individual and adventurous, and the quartet still avoids a soloist-and-accompanists approach, working as a collective on the more lyrical and thoughtful pieces just as much on the neo-post-bop burners.