01 May

[ May the 9th, 2025 release on Libra Records: Satoko Fujii’s This is It! – Message ]

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release date: 09.05.2025 on Libra Records

The brilliant pianist/composer Satoko Fujii never ceases to amaze! Message, the boisterous third album from This is It! featuring Fujii with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, and the buoyant, unpredictable percussionist Takashi Itani, is out May 9, 2025 via Libra

“this is music that deserves to be heard with full attention – with the understanding that no matter what we’re hearing, ‘this is it!’” – Eric McDowell, The Free Jazz Collective

“…can’t get much closer to improvisational music perfection…..As with any Fujii project but especially the smaller combo ones, telepathy and simpatico are the two main ingredients that elevate her music well beyond the notes.

– Victor Aaron, Something Else!

27 Mar

[ March the 28th, 2025 – Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio – Dream a Dream – Libra Records ]

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Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio Dream a Dream to be released on March 28, 2025, via Libra Records

“Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio isn’t even close to being a conventional jazz trio. . . . But it is a Satoko Fujii ensemble in every sense, with the grace, sophistication, surprise and ingenuity found in every other of her ensembles.” — S. Victor Aaron, Something Else!

“Ms. Fujii’s Tokyo Trio has all the requisites for a landmark avant Jazz Improv Trio.” — Grego Applegate Edwards, Gapplegate Music Review

After two previous live recordings, pianist-composer Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio made their third release, Dream a Dream in the studio. The beautifully detailed recording cements their place as one of the leading piano trios of our time. The group has an innate chemistry that allows them to navigate Fujii’s compositions as well as improvise with telepathic unity. It’s an unbeatable combination of individual and collective expression that keeps the music always lively and surprising. The album will be released March 28, 2025 via Libra Records.

21 Jan

[ January the 24th, 2025 release via Libra Records: Keiji Haino & Natsuki Tamura – What Happened There? ]

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Get ready for some serious, subversive fun on What happened there? the first-ever collaboration between two of improvised music’s greatest provocateurs: trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and guitarist Keiji Haino. The album is out January 24, 2025 via Libra Records.

Tamura is internationally recognized for a unique musical vocabulary that blends jazz lyricism with extended techniques in a wide variety of settings including ensembles with Satoko Fujii. Haino is a monster-free jazz, noise rock, and free improvisation player who has made music with the likes of Peter Brötzmann, John Zorn, Derek Bailey, Jim O’Rourke, and Fred Frith.

“Tamura has entered territory that no one has ever explored.” ―Masahiro Imai, Musen to Jikken
“Haino has achieved a reputation as a kind of unearthly visionary.” —Ben Ratliff, Art Forum

19 Jan

[ January the 24th, 2025 release via Libra Records: Satoko Fujii GEN – Altitude 1100 Meters ]

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Altitude 1100 Meters to be released on January 24, 2025 via Libra Records.

Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii’s New String Ensemble, GEN, Makes a Stunning Debut on Her Latest Album, Altitude 1100 Meters

“Fujii’s music is unique. . . . she keeps inventing herself, with all her many bands playing totally different things, but all with the same underlying quality and recognizable vision.” – Stef Gjissels, Free Jazz Collective

“Satoko Fujii does not set boundaries and limits to her creativity – passionate and determined to search for every possible exploratory solution of sound, composition and improvisation.” – Guiseppe Mavilla, Scrivere di Jazz (Italy)

08 Sep

[ September 13th, 2024 release on Libra Records: Satoko Fujii Quartet – Dog Days of Summer ]

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On Dog Days of Summer pianist/composer Satoko Fujii reconvenes her fearlessly adventurous avant jazz-rock quartet after an 18-year pause. Out September 13, 2024 via Libra Records, the band’s sixth album features Fujii with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, bassist Takeharu Hayakawa, and drummer Tatsuya Yoshida.

“Satoko does a great job of writing challenging, quick-changing, progressive/jazz/rock music that this daredevil quartet excels at playing… As always, Satoko Fujii and her extraordinary quartet deliver the goods and keep all of us smiling.” — Bruce Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

“Fujii’s sound world is a kaleidoscope, and those familiar with her work have come to expect the unexpected. If any artist can be said to meet expectations by upsetting them, she’s one.” — Mike Chamberlain, Coda

02 Jul

[ July 12th, 2024 release on Libra Records: Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura – Aloft ]

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Pianist/composer Satoko Fujii and trumpeter/composer Natsuki Tamura release their ninth duo album Aloft on July 12, 2024 via Libra Records. After nearly 30 years of working together, the wife/husband duo showcases an ever-deepening ability to create and explore new sounds that borders on telepathic.

“It seems—in the studio or on the stage—that Fujii and Tamura think as one.” – Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

“a thrilling ride for the listener” – Steve Feeney, Portland Press Herald

17 May

[ May 17th, 2024 release via Libra Records: Natsuki Tamura & Jim Black – NatJim ]

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Trumpeter-composer Natsuki Tamura’s Exuberant Duet with Drummer Jim Black Explores the Joy of Spontaneous Music Making

“…Tamura’s trumpet is lyrically beautiful and commanding.” ― Andy Hamilton, Wire

“Tamura controls the tone of his trumpet at will and he has entered territory that no one has ever explored.” ― Masahiro Imai, Musen to Jikken

NatJim to be released May 17, 2024 via Libra Records

21 Jan

[ January 26th, 2024 release via Libra Records: Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio – Jet Black ]

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With Jet Black, Pianist and Composer Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio Takes Its Place Among the Great Piano Trios of Our Time. Trio’s new recording to be released January 26, 2024 via Libra Records.

“Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio isn’t even close to being a conventional jazz trio . . . But it is a Satoko Fujii ensemble in every sense, with the grace, sophistication, surprise and ingenuity found in every other of her ensembles. Only this time in a small, nimble, and deceptively familiar construction.” — Victor Aaron, Something Else!

“a beautifully present trio that speaks to us now and no doubt will stand the test of time . . .” — Grego Applegate Edwards, Gapplegate Music Review

01 Jun

[ June the 2nd, 2023 release via Libra Records – Satoko Fujii’s Piano Solo – Torrent ]

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Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii’s Vibrant New Solo CD Showcases the Full Range of Her Artistry

“Unpredictable, wildly creative, and uncompromising … Fujii is an absolutely essential listen for anyone interested in the future of jazz.” ―Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

“Her music can’t get much closer to improvisational music perfection…” —Victor Aaron, Something Else!

16 Mar

[ March the 17th,2023 release via Circum/Libra: Satoko Fujii’s Kaze and Ikue Mori – Crustal Movement ]

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The pioneering musician Ikue Mori on laptop electronics joins Kaze – the cooperative quartet featuring Japanese composer-pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura plus French trumpeter Christian Pruvost and drummer– for their innovative new album Crustal Movement, out March 17, 2023 via Circum/Libra. Album is a visceral, richly textured hybrid of pre-recorded music files exchanged during pandemic and live performance

“[Their music is] a well-judged amalgam of adventurous and empathetic ensemble playing, and striking individual flights,”—John Sharpe, All About Jazz

“So intriguing that you’ll listen to it as music, not noise, and you’ll start to think about the relationship between music and sound and then . . . you’ll be hooked–just as I am.”—Marc Phillips, The Vinyl Anachronist