libra records 212-037

Matthias Schubert, Gebhard Ullmann — tenor sax | Paulina Owczarek — baritone sax | Natsuki Tamura, Richard Koch, Nikolaus Neuser — trumpet | Matthias Müller — trombone – Kazuhisa Uchihashi — guitar | Satoko Fujii — piano | Jan Roder — bass | Michael Griener, Peter Orins — drums

Recorded on January 26, 2014 by Stefan Tiedje at Studio Börne 45, Berlin. Mixed on April 4, 2014 by Peter Orins. Mastered on May 20, 2014 by Mike Marciano at Systems Two, NYC

Tracklist: 1. Ichigo Ichie 1 [12’22] 2. Ichigo Ichie 2 [11’04] 3. Ichigo Ichie 3 [10’23] 4. Ichigo Ichie 4 [6’53] 5. ABCD [14’17]

All are composed by Satoko Fujii.

Orchestra Berlin

In January 2014, we had an unusually warm winter in Berlin. The exception was the three days that we had the concert and recording for this project. We could see the diamond dust that night and it showed how cold it was. Fujii, who’s been living in Berlin since 2011, started the orchestra project there after founding orchestras in four other cities: New York, Tokyo, Nagoya and Kobe. Fujii had written “Ichigo Ichie” to perform at the Chicago Jazz Festival and wanted to record it in Berlin with the musicians she’d met there.

We had a rehearsal on January 24th, a concert on the 25th and the recording on the 26th. There were some musicians in the band who had never met before. Fujii had a rehearsal in this fresh and taut atmosphere. The rehearsal was very easy. European musicians have such a good technique and a beautiful timbre. The band also has a feeling of wildness. They responded to the wild parts of Fujii’s music and we had so much fun. Besides, they all have their own voices. Despite the cold weather, the music got very hot and that made Fujii so happy.

One can actually hear and feel the air pressure of the large ensemble with all of the musicians playing with their full energy. It is extremely beautiful and powerful. Listening to this in front of the band is so special. If you experience it once, you will be addicted. I recommend that you experience it.

To tell the truth, it is very tough for horn players to play the high range half notes and whole notes in the slow tempo of the pieces on this CD. When we play it in a concert, we only play once so it is okay. But in the recording session, we sometimes record 2 or 3 takes. When the recording was over, all the horn players said, “Phew!,” “We blew and blew!!,” “I will have swollen lips tomorrow!”

This time we had both the concert and recording in the same room. It is one big room, and unlike a recording studio, it has no booth. All of the players were in the same room and shared the mics. It was not easy for the players but because of this we all had a pleasant feeling of tension and that made the recording wonderful, with a lot of presence. Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin was born! — Natsuki Tamura -Jan. 12, 2015

CD version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)