The third of her five new 2026 orchestral discs will be released September 4
“The orchestra is her instrument … and she uses it to make epic gestures.” ― John Chacona, Coda
“… listening to Fujii at work has been a journey of discovery, as compelling as it is delightful.” ― Stephen Smoliar, The Rehearsal Studio
Even after nearly 30 years and more than 25 CDs of large ensemble music, Satoko Fujii continues to search for new ways to write for and perform with big bands. On Second Attempt (Libra Records, release date September 4, 2026), her third album with Orchestra Berlin, Fujii and the band spontaneously blend composition and improvisation, in ways that are unique in Fujii’s enormous book of orchestral compositions.
“My bandmates in my large ensembles are all great improvisers,” she says. “I would like to have them swim freely in my compositions. I always think about how I can have freedom as a composer and freedom for my collaborators to add their voices. All we need are a few simple rules so everyone can work together.”
“For a long time, I’ve developed simple written parts that I can cue the band to play as background for soloists,” she continues. “The cues don’t have a specific order in which they are played, I signal to the band with hand gestures which one to play as we perform. Then I thought, what would happen if just these short fragments alone were the composition? I felt that the band and I could build a large composition with these small parts, just like a child can assemble something large out of small Lego bricks.”
To further add to the new challenges of the piece, during one section Fujii asked the band to make music without using musical instruments. As she explains in her liner notes, in previous performances of the suite, “the instrument-less sections used paper cups, chopsticks, or duct tape. This time, reflecting on the ongoing turmoil in the world, we decided to perform using newspapers. The performers were left to their own discretion in how they would tear, crumple, throw, or read the newspapers. The ‘newspaper’ section, while conveying much through visual elements in the concert, presented challenges in recording. Therefore, I aimed to achieve something closer to the work’s intent by using sound effects.”
That passage, which occurs in the third part of the five-part suite, is just one sonic highlight in a work full of memorable moments. Liz Kosak subtly manipulates electronic sounds on synthesizer to open “Part 1.” Then Fujii cues the horns to sneak in with quiet trills, layered with long tones. A quiet group improvisation mixing electronic tones and pure sounds from the acoustic instruments, interspersed more simple composed elements, ushers in trombonist Matthias Müller. Müller’s bright muscular playing is in the foreground as the band collectively improvises a slow crescendo of sound.
On “Part 2” drummers Michael Griener and Peter Orins take the solo spotlight, providing a continuous improvised thread as Fujii and the rest of the band interject a series of short, simple phrases. It’s an explicit example of her assembling small parts into a larger whole. Eventually saxophonist Gerhard Ullmann joins the percussionists in a climactic improvisation.
“Part 4” explodes on the listener with thundering drums, frantic synthesizer, and the blazing trumpet of Lina Allemano. Fujii then steers the band into a sudden down shift, bringing in bassist Jan Roder for an unaccompanied solo that lowers the volume and ushers in a more spacious episode. The performance gradually ascends back into the stratosphere, with solos from trumpeter Nikolaus Neuser and saxophonist Matthias Schubert.
The ensemble contributes a sustained drone and a melancholy theme to “Part 5,” while baritone saxophonist Paulina Owczarek spins a melodic, richly textured solo and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura takes things from warm counter lines to absurd vocalizing. The result is thoughtful, orderly, and impassioned, with succinct composed themes lending some structure.
The album continues Fujii’s series of orchestra albums released in 2026. Next up will be new works for Satoko Fujii Orchestra Nagoya (October 2) and Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo (November 6). “I will have to save New York for 2027,” she says.
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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 over 30 years, she has created 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, she consistently ranks high in categories including piano, composer, large ensemble, 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. 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. Almost a quarter of her albums have been with jazz orchestras, prompting Cadence magazine to call her “the Ellington of free jazz.”
Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin — Second Attempt
Libra Records – Catalog Number: 212-085, Recorded May 3, 2026
Release date – September 4, 2026