The fourth of her five new 2026 orchestral discs will be released on October 2
“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
“An original composer and a bandleader who gets the best collaborators to deliver.” ― John Fordham, The Guardian
On Korekara (October 2, Libra Records) Satoko Fujii’s Orchestra Nagoya celebrates the musicians and arts community that make the central Japanese city’s culture scene so special. Fujii composed the four-part suite to honour the 20th anniversary of the café Rojiura no Matahari, a gathering place for the city’s arts lovers. Perhaps that explains why the album is one of the warmest and most joyful of her orchestra releases, with a heightened feeling of camaraderie and exploratory self-expression from all involved.
“Shingo Takeda, who plays alto in the band, and his wife Ririko Mio ran a cafe called Rojiura no Matahari very close to the train station,” Fujii says. “Whenever we played in Nagoya, Natsuki and I went there before we took the train home. Their cafe was very small and cozy, where many movie lovers, music lovers, and literature lovers hung out. Now their cafe has moved to different area with a lot of good restaurants, second-hand stores, and vinyl stores. We sometimes go there now, but it is not as easy as it was before because it is a little further from the station”.
“They asked me to write a piece for their 20th anniversary,” Fujii continues. “The concert was held in July 2021, when Covid was still a threat. We all got tested before the concert! The title of the suite means ‘from now.’ I wanted to compose for their future, not for the past.”
Since founding member guitarist Yasuhiro Usui first assembled the band in 1999, he has shepherded the group through many changes in personnel. Yet over 27 years, the orchestra’s ability to get inside of Fujii’s vision and compositions has never faltered. “He knows my music and knows the local musicians,” Fujii notes. “I trust him. I think we make the music based on this trust.”
photo by Satoru Kono
That mutual trust is evident from the opening moments of the CD, as the group digs into a big, bold, melody for the full ensemble. Bassist Toru Kasai is the first soloist and impresses with a thoughtful, melodic improvisation that incorporates traditional and extended techniques in a very organic way. Fujii cues in the band to build tension until trumpeter Takahiro Tsujita joins in for a well-balanced duet with the bassist. The trumpeter’s taut, burnished lines veer off in unpredictable ways and things take a funky turn as the band segues into a rock beat. Tenor saxophonist Yoshiyuki Hirao then takes over, the sandpapery skronk of his tone lending urgency to his flurry of notes and declamatory melodies. The spirited reprise of the opening line brings the first part to a triumphant conclusion. This is a band that is together and clearly having a ball.
“Part 2” starts more quietly, with subtle sounds from trombonist Toshihiro Koike. His long lines ripple and shine as the band gathers power for a surging, full-throated composed section. Altoist Ryoko Ono briefly lowers the pressure in an unaccompanied solo full of expressive cries, subtle dynamics, and space. But the band’s riffing goads him on to an explosive, yet playful, solo. Trumpeter Natsuki Tamura continues the playful intensity with bravura timbre and sound manipulations and absurd vocalizing. Another high-energy, full-ensemble passage brings the section to a close as Tamura launches skyward for a jubilant conclusion.
“Part 3” features solos from guitarist Yasuhiro Usui and altoist Shingo Takeda. Over a laid-back tempo, Usui displays the bright metallic sheen of his tone and an explosive delivery. Takeda, with his command of advanced techniques and throaty vocal inflections, delivers a scorching solo.
The final part features some of Fujii’s most inventive writing and arranging. It opens with trumpeter Misaki Ishiwata’s carefully spaced sequence of short phrases, each one a lyric little gem.
Trombonist Toshinori Terukina joins him in a duet whose complementary lines ebb and flow in close synchronization. Baritone saxophonist Daion Kobayashi melds melody and pure sound into fat, blustery phrases in tandem with tenor saxophonist Takuya Matsumoto. The excitement escalates as trombonist Tatsuki Nakamura’s rollicking rough-hewn lines twist from funky blues to post-bop sophistication. Drummer Hisamine Kondo and trumpeter Tsutomu Watanabe take things out on a high note in a boisterous concluding exchange.
The album continues Fujii’s series of orchestra albums released in 2026. The final release this year will be Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo’s Kappa Ondo on November 6.
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.”