“ghostly, poetic sound filling the air with great beauty.” ― Philip Johnson, The Independent
“a fresh approach to improvised music… Adventuresome and rewarding.” — Stuart Kremsky, IAJRC Journal
Trumpeter-composer Natsuki Tamura’s newest Gato Libre album, Sleeping Cat, is part of an ambitious yearlong marathon of multiple new releases by the Japanese brass player. Available exclusively on Bandcamp
release date: 19.11.2021 via Libra Records
Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii and mallet virtuoso Taiko Saito delve deeper into their duo project with the help of the Internet to make “real, free art”
“The always adventurous pianist-composer teams with vibraphonist Taiko Saito . . . for a beautifully surreal journey.”—Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
“Saito and Fujii are one-of-their-kind adventurous and highly imaginative improvisers. It is clear that Fujii found in Saito a musical partner that can navigate her into uncharted sonic territories.”—Eyal Hareumeni, Salt Peanuts
Half a world away from each other, pianist-composer Satoko Fujii and vibraphonist Taiko Saito recapture the delicate intensity of their duo, Futari, on their new CD, Underground.
release date: 19.11.2021 via Libra Records
Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii records live via the internet for the first time with her trio “This Is It!”
“…can’t get much closer to improvisational music perfection” — Victor Aaron, Something Else!
“This project…has lifted her artistry to a new level…. Always fresh, always adventurous.” — Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
release date: 17.09.2021 via Libra Records
Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii’s Bold Experiment with Sound Collage and Prepared Piano
“…magical, unfamiliar sounds that can stimulate your sense of wonder and affect your emotions . . .” — Barry Witherden, Jazz Journal
“Fujii’s music troubles the divide between abstraction and realism. Plucking or scraping the strings of the piano; covering them up as she strikes the keys…. All of this amounts to abstract expressionism, in musical form. But it’s equaled by her rich sense of simplicity, sprung from the feeling that she is simply converting the riches of the world around her into music.”
—Giovanni Russonello, New York Times
Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii is often quoted as saying that she “wants to make music no one has heard before.” She more than fulfills that goal on her latest solo album, Piano Music, out September 17 via Libra Records. Using short pre-recorded snippets of her prepared piano music, she edits them together to create a patchwork quilt of unique sonorities. The results are unlike anything she has done before—two extended pieces of otherworldly piano sounds and melodies that evolve so smoothly and organically you can’t tell they’re stitched together from smaller fragments.
release date: 04.05.2021 via Libra Records
“The music rattles the bones as often as it soothes the soul and no composer is more masterful at balancing and grounding those extremes…continually absorbing and unlike anything else.”
– Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz
Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii brings together a new piano trio on her latest release Moon on the Lake captured live at Tokyo’s famous jazz venue, Pit Inn. The Tokyo Trio features Fujii with two of the most in-demand younger musicians on the Japanese jazz scene, bassist Takashi Sugawa and drummer Ittetsu Takemura. They form a lithe, quick witted trio, capable of terrific speed and excitement as well as subtle textures and tone colors. Moon on the Lake puts their wide range and capabilities on full display
release date: 09.04.2021 via Libra Records
“ The wife-husband team from Japan . . . consistently reveals a wide-open and unpredictable nature that makes its performance a thrilling ride for the listener.” – Steve Feeney, Portland Press Herald
“ Intuition and communication like that is rare.” – Adam Kinner, The Montreal Gazette
release date: 19.03.2021 via Libra Records
“She could be the most important creative musician of our time.” ― Michael Nastos, AllMusic
“Over the decades, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii has demonstrated uncanny power and musicality . . . This music is infused with a wide-open spirit.” — Josef Woodard, DownBeat
Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii normally spends months on the road each year, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made touring impossible. On her new solo album, Hazuki, she lets the music travel for her.
release date: 22.01.2021 via Libra Records
“Persistent and inexhaustible imagination with emotion, power and everything else…[Fujii] does not leave a single second to be bored or indifferent.” – Phontas Troussas, Vinylmine
“Taiko not only displayed exceptional technique, but more importantly she projected her own voice on an instrument that dares one to uncover . . . even more impressive was her daring to dive in some uncharted waters which she glided through with ease.”—Mike Mainieri, vibraphonist
Beyond, the recorded debut of Futari, a duo of pianist-composer Satoko Fujii and vibraphonist Taiko Saito, features lyrical intensity from two fearless explorers of new sounds. The combination of piano and vibes is an uncommon one, but Fujii and Saito navigate the new terrain of their collaboration with imagination and a spirit of adventure.
release date: 6.11.2020 via NOT TWO records
“Over the decades, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii has demonstrated uncanny power and musicality as a considerable force in the avant-garde end of the jazz spectrum.”— Josef Woodard, DownBeat
“Lopez does a fine job of fusing genres and styles while dispelling those old rumors that drums are not musical instruments.” — Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz
“…Tamura’s trumpet is lyrically beautiful and commanding.” ― Andy Hamilton, Wire
On their debut release, Mantle , pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, and drummer Ramon Lopez challenged themselves. Working together for the first time as a trio, they not only developed themselves into a working ensemble, but they wrote music that explored the potential of the group, each piece pushing and inspiring them in a different way. The result is an album of unfailing surprise and invention played by a group that listens closely and responds to one another on a deep intuitive level.
release date: 6.11.2020 via NOT TWO records
They “…draw deeply from a seeming perpetual wellspring of inspiration…. The bare bones instrumentation allows full appreciation of their virtues: inventive composerly craft; prodigious improvising prowess; a taut balance between melody and mayhem; and individual excursions which confirm the parameters of the charts as stimulating rather than limiting factors.” – John Sharpe, Point of Departure
“It’s rare to sense this level of intuition between musicians…” —Kurt Gottschalk, New York City Jazz Record
“Fujii and Tamura offer unsentimental beauty, space, silence and humour… Proof that improvised music can be emotionally engaging as well as ear tickling…” ― Peter Marsh, BBC Music Magazine
Pentas marks another milestone in Fujii and Tamura’s remarkable 23-year history as one of the most celebrated duos in contemporary improvised music. The new CD is among their most lyrical and polished, without sacrificing the exploratory invention and spontaneity that marks their best playing.
