The Squid's Ear Magazine


Fujii, Satoko: Stone (Libra)

A stunning solo album working inside and outside of the piano and coaxing electronic response from the strings from pianist Satoko Fujii, caputered at Samurai Hotel in NY in September of 2018, and in the studio in Brooklyn three months later, during her prolific 60th "kanreki" birthday year, here in 15 dynamic and far-ranging improvisations revealing her depth and creative powers.
 

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Includes a 6 page foldout color booklet with photos and liner notes from Satoko Fujii in English and Japanese.

UPC: 4562169330566

Label: Libra
Catalog ID: 201-056
Squidco Product Code: 27342

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: Japan
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at Samurai Hotel, in New York, on September 30th, 2018, and at Systems Two, in Brooklyn, New York, on December 12th, 2018, by Max Ross.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

A stunning solo album working inside and outside of the piano and coaxing electronic response from the strings, from pianist Satoko Fujii, caputered at Samurai Hotel in NY in September of 2018, and in the studio in Brooklyn three months later, during her prolific 60th "kanreki" birthday year, here in 15 dynamic and far-ranging improvisations revealing her depth and creative powers. The diversity of pieces, from beautifully melodic acoustic pieces ("River Flow") to plucked inside piano, koto-like work ("Shale") to gorgeous ambient electronics using (most likely) an eBow ("Trachyte") result in an album that's unpredictable yet sublimely paced and intriguing. Each track is titled in relation to the to title ‐ stones ‐ in their various aspects: fossilized, volcanic, crystallized, or found flowing in a river. A magnificent and unique album of the creative possibility of the piano.


Includes a 6 page foldout color booklet with photos and liner notes from Satoko Fujii in English and Japanese.

Artist Biographies

"Born on October 9, 1958 in Tokyo, Japan, Fujii began playing piano at four and received classical training until twenty, when she turned to jazz. From 1985-87, she studied at Boston's Berklee College of Music, where her teachers included Herb Pomeroy and Bill Pierce. She returned to Japan for six years before returning to the US to study at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where her teachers included George Russell, Cecil McBee, and Paul Bley, who appeared on her debut CD Something About Water (Libra, 1996).

Since then Fujii has been an innovative bandleader and soloist, a tireless seeker of new sounds, and a prolific recording artist in ensembles ranging from duos to big bands. She has showcased her astonishing range and ability approximately 80 CDs as leader or co-leader. With each new recording or new band, she explores new aspects of her art.

Regular collaborations include her New York trio with bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Jim Black, augmented by trumpeter/husband Natsuki Tamura to form the Satoki Fujii Four; her duo with Tamura; the Satoko Fujii Quartet featuring Tatsuya Yoshida of the Japanese avant-rock duo, The Ruins; Orchestra New York, which boasts the cream of New York's contemporary avant garde improvisers, including saxophonists Ellery Eskelin and Tony Malaby, trumpeters Herb Roberton and Steven Bernstein, and trombonist Curtis Hasselbring, among others; Orchestra Tokyo, drawing on that city's best improvisers; Orchestra Nagoya; Orchestra Kobe; the co-operative trio Junk Box with Tamura and percussionist John Hollenbeck; ma-do, a quartet including Tamura on trumpet, bassist Norikatsu Koreyasu, and Akira Horikoshi; the Min-Yoh Ensemble with Tamura, trombonist Hasselbring, and accordionist Andrea Parkins; the Satoko Fujii New Trio, featuring bassist Todd Nicholson and drummer Takashi Itani― plus countless engagements and collaborations with some of the world's most important improvisers."

-Satoko Fujii Website (http://www.satokofujii.com/bio.html)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Obsius 3:32

2. Trachyte 7:56

3. Biotite 4:24

4. River Flow 1:11

5. Shale 3:17

6. Phonolite 3:49

7. Lava 4:26

8. Icy Wood 3:36

9. Piemontite Schist 3:19

10. Chlorite 5:29

11. Basalt 3:23

12. Sand Stone 1:56

13. Marble 1:42

14. Ice Waterfall 3:08

15. Eternity 4:04

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Piano & Keyboards
Solo Artist Recordings
Asian Improvisation & Jazz
Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura's Libra Label
Staff Picks & Recommended Items

Search for other titles on the label:
Libra.


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