Newly Discovered Recording of a Satoko Fujii Orchestra Project Is a Revelation.
Satoko Fujii’s Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra to be released July 10, 2026, via Libra Records. First of five orchestra albums Fujii will release in 2026, and her 24th orchestra album overall!
“It’s difficult to find another composer like Fujii who can write improvised music for a large ensemble so well and I doubt that there ever will be.” – Nick Davies, London Jazz News
“The orchestra is her instrument … and she uses it to make epic gestures.” ― John Chacona, Coda
For more than a decade, the recording of Satoko Fujii’s Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra (Libra, release date July 10, 2026) lay hidden in the archive of concert producer Wolfgang Gross. But when he found it and shared it with Fujii, they both agreed that something special had happened during that concert in Bielefeld, Germany, in 2014. “He sent me the recording,” Fujii said, “and I was amazed at how beautifully we played, and with so much energy.” The new double CD captures the enthusiasm of a large ensemble that is clearly thrilled to be playing challenging compositions by Fujii, as well as other composers in the group.
The discovery of the music may have been serendipitous, but the story behind concert is one of friendship and artistic collaboration. As artistic director of the Bunker Ulmenwall, a jazz venue housed in a converted WWII air raid shelter, Gross produced many concerts by Fujii. “Satoko and Natsuki were frequent guests at Bunker Ulmenwall with various ensembles, and we also became friends outside of work. They were both staying at our house, and we discussed my project idea for the Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra. Satoko and Natsuki were enthusiastic about the idea, and we decided: We want to make this happen!”
photo by Uli Groene
Gross had a special idea for the orchestra, which was assembled especially for the concert. In keeping with the educational mission of Bunker Ulmenwall, the orchestra included not only professionals but also music students from Bielefeld. “This project had an educational purpose as well,” Fujii said. “It encouraged young musicians to compose original music and lead the band.” From the opening notes, the orchestra is at home in Fujii’s unique sound world. The way Fujii conducts—cuing in soloists and sections of the composition as the piece develops—makes the band close collaborators in the music making. The connection between composer and band members results in a compelling performance that seamlessly blends writing and improvising. The orchestra, which includes two drummers, live electronics, and bass saxophone add a new character to her compositions.
The entire first disc is devoted to Fujii’s epic “Shiki,” which was the title track of her 2014 Orchestra New York release. It is a vast, eventful composition which Fujii says she “composed for life, which has many stages and changes and dramas.” It is one of the most monumental musical architectures she ever constructed, and the orchestra and soloists expertly handle the constantly mutating composition. Guitarist Lucy Liebe’s glowing, pensive solo is in perfect keeping with the quiet drone of the opening minutes and grows more urgent over the band’s building tension. Later an orchestral blast ushers in a high-energy duetfor locked-in drummers Juri Beier and Karl Godejohann. Trumpeter Robin Stüwe, with her clear tone and clean articulation, then takes over for a poised but passionate solo. Tenor saxophonist Sebastian Büscher’s wailing tone and angular lines shoulder their way through the bold punctuation and tangled themes of the orchestra.
photo by Uli Groene
Tenor saxophonist Volker Winck growls and soars to a fever pitch as the piece evolves from a splintered background into a rock-inflected climax. After a sparkling solo from pianist Matthias Klause, bass saxophonist Andreas Kaling barrels in over a lumbering melody for a gritty, rip-roaring solo. Soloists and orchestra continue their dialog until the celebratory ensemble theme that concludes one of Fujii’s grandest creations.
On the second disc, Fujii gives up the podium to the orchestra’s other composers. Bass saxophonist Kaling conducts his riff-heavy “Yamantaka.” With its angular, interlocking themes, deep drones, and stark rock beat, it’s a powerful showcase for the orchestra with a shredding guitar solo by Liebe and a bright and busy solo from pianist Klause. Next, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura’s “Jasper,” with quiet sounds and unusual timbres, provides a harbor of relative calm. “Antischwarm,” by alto saxophinst Volkmann, is a fleet and varied piece that navigates many episodes and climaxes with Kaling tearing it up again on bass sax. Fujii picks up the baton again to conclude the concert with her serene and celestial “Gen Himmel.” This album is the first in a series of five orchestra albums Fujii is releasing this year to celebrate music for large ensembles.
Others in the series include albums.
Satoko Fujii Orchestra Kobe (August 7),
SatokoFujii Orchestra Berlin (September 4),
Satoko Fujii Orchestra Nagoya (October 2),
Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo (November 6).
“My professional career started playing in a cabaret big band in Tokyo,” Fujii says. “Before then, I was a classical piano player, always playing by myself. You can imagine how very excited I was to be playing with others. I loved that feeling, and I still do. My heart sings when I play music with a large ensemble; it gives me such joy and energy. Composing for and performing with orchestras inspires me to keep making music.”
photo by Uli Groene
Pianist and composer Satoko Fujii, “an improviser of rumbling intensity and generous restraint” (Giovanni Russonello, New York Times), is one of the most original voices in jazz today. For nearly 30 years, she hascreated a unique, personal music that spans many genres, blending jazz, contemporary classical, rock, and traditional Japanese music into an innovative synthesis instantly recognizable as hers alone. A composer for ensembles of all sizes and a performer who has appeared around the world, she was the recipient of a 2020 Instant Award in Improvised Music, in recognition of her “artistic intelligence, independence, and integrity.” Frequently cited in the DownBeat Critics’ Poll, in 2024, she ranked high in three categories—piano, big band, and arranger.
In 2022, she released Hyaku, One Hundred Dreams, her 100th album as a leader. On the way to this impressive milestone, she has led some of the most consistently creative ensembles in modern improvised music, including a piano trio with Mark Dresser and Jim Black (1997-2009). In addition to a wide variety of small groups, Fujii also performs in a duo with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, with whom she’s recorded nine albums since 1997. She and Tamura are also one-half of the international free-jazz quartet Kaze, which has released seven albums since their debut in 2011. Fujii has established herself as one of the world’s leading composers for large jazz ensembles. She has recorded a total of 23 albums for jazz orchestra, prompting Cadence magazine to call her “the Ellington of free jazz.”
Satoko Fujii’s Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra
Libra Records – Catalog Number: 218-083, Recorded November 22, 2014
Release date – July 10, 2026
www.satokofujii.com/
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