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Bobby Bradford | Frode Gjerstad | Ingebrigt Håker Flaten | Paal Nilssen-Love | Kampen | No Business Records

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Sometimes there are weird coincidences. When we got new albums on our review list recently, many of them included reminiscences of the golden jazz eras in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Rob Mazurek’s Pulsar Quartet sometimes sounds like the seminal Miles Davis Quintet, Sam Rivers’ trio with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul brings back memories of his RivBea studio days, Michael Blake taps the great jazz-rock bands of the 70s, Joe McPhee’s plays “Naima” and “Round Midnight” on two new reissues, and even Wadada Leo Smith and Louis Moholo-Moholo salute the great Ancestors. Finally, west-coast-legend Bobby Bradford’s new album reminds one of the landmark Ornette Coleman Quartet with Don Cherry, Scott LaFaro and Ed Blackwell. — Martin Schray Continue reading →

Robert Dick | Ursel Schlicht | Photosphere | Nemu Records

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Recorded live in 2004 at the Kulturhaus Dock 4 in Kassel, Germany, PHOTOSPHERE could be described as meditative. That doesn’t mean it lacks fire or intensity, but the passions in play are ultimately shaped by artistic intelligence. Though there are diverse musical sources and moods, nothing here devolves into postmodern pastiche or New Age glibness. — Gene Santoro, August 2005 Author of Highway 61 Revisited and Myself When I Am Real: The Life and M usic of Charles Mingus. Continue reading →

Koh | Natsuki Tamura | Masahiro Uemura | Nankoh Kumon | Do-Chū | Koya Records

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KOH (Koh Otera) began her musical career with the help of composer and pianist Satoko Fujii, who produced and played on the Japanese vocalist, pianist and composer’s spare and promising debut, Yamabuki (Libra, 2005). A unique vocalist and pianist, with a rare sensitivity to poetic texts that are the basis for her playful compositions, KOH proves—six years later, with two completely different releases—why Fujii trusted her talent. On both sets she collaborates with drummer Masahiro Uemura, known for his association with sound sculptor Otomo Yoshihide’s outfits and the Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra. — Eyal Hareuveni Continue reading →

Koh | Masahiro Uemura | Komado-No-Oh | Tension | Koya Records

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Tension is the debut from Komano-No-Oh the duo of KOH and drummer Uemura, who began to perform under this name in 2009. A sense of playfulness is stressed here, and Uemura has much more freedom, in this context, to interpret KOH’s dream-like poems with changing pulses and a wider palette of colors. He mirrors the often cryptic lyrics with healthy doses of fun, either challenging the dramatic delivery or simply injecting a surprising, aggressive shuffle drumming in the middle of an abstract reciting of a poem, as on “A Spider and a Flower.” — Eyal Hareuveni Continue reading →

Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo | Live!! | Libra Records

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Live!! is pure candy, a treat in every aspect. This album offers a riveting 70-minute set, both as an audio CD and a video DVD… Highlights abound… Each of the seven tracks features two lead players or soloists, so that at the end of the album all 14 members of the orchestra had their moment in the spotlight. Fans of Fujii’s highly personal, lyrical yet high-energy composition style will be in seventh heaven. Highly recommended and a 2006 must-have. ― François Couture, All Music Guide Continue reading →

Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York | Summer Suite | Libra Records

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I love Satoko’s strong charts and engaging harmonies for all of the reeds and brass with inspired solos from the tenor sax and trombone, but it is the strong ensemble sections that really stand out… Her great New York Orchestra has not played in New York for quite a while, we can only hope they have an opportunity to do so in the not too distant future. In the meantime, you can get this treasure and their many layers of talent. — Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery Continue reading →

Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York | Eto | Libra Records

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My husband, Natsuki Tamura will turn sixty years old this year. In Japan we have a special celebration for sixty years olds, called “Kanreki.” We use the Chinese zodiac in Japan which is called “Eto,” so 12 years is one cycle. 60 is a special number because it is 12 x 5 and 10 x 6. The duodecimal system and decimal system meet at 60. I wanted write some music for this, and read a bit about the Chinese zodiac. Each of the 12 animals in the zodiac has its own character and each character inspired me a lot, so I wrote a short piece for each of them to make one long suite. Each piece has featured solo player. — Satoko Fujii Continue reading →

Angelo Verploegen | Misha Mengelberg | Natsuki Tamura | Satoko Fujii | Double Duo | Crossword Puzzle | Libra Records

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They (Mengelberg and Verploegen) converse and dovetail with the amazingly prolific team of trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and pianist Satoko Fujii in a uniquely textured and beautifully nuanced performance recorded live at Amsterdam’s Bimhuis… At 43:31 this music would have fit on a single vinyl LP and it feels just right: long enough to be satisfying and short enough to leave you wanting more. Crossword Puzzle is a poly-portmanteu packed with creative, adventurous music. — Bill Barton, Signal To Noise Continue reading →

Satoko Fujii Min-Yoh Ensemble | Watershed | Libra Records

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As with all Fujii recordings, Watershed contains some very challenging and complex music, amidst quite a bit of beauty and wonder. The juxtaposition of traditional Japanese melodies and this quartet’s unusual sensibilities—even by avant- garde jazz standards—may ensure that even some of Fujii’s longtime fans are perplexed, or even confounded, by this music, yet, there’s no denying the passion and virtuosity involved. — Dave Wayne Continue reading →

Junk Box | Fragment | Libra Records

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It must be a daunting job to be the third wheel in a trio with the likes of Satoko Fujii and Natsuki Tamura. Percussionist John Hollenbeck rises to it, though… Fujii’s prepared piano and Hollenbeck and Tamura’s quiet extended technique become an organic whole, sounding oddly electronic at times although the group is billed as being acoustic only… Hollenbeck, too, is an imaginative and subtle composer. He doesn’t try to stand out, at times disappearing altogether to allow Fujii’s compositions to show through. And they do. Fragment is yet another set of strong pieces well-played by the startlingly prolific pianist. ― Kurt Gottschalk, All About Jazz, New York Continue reading →