A hauntingly beautiful set of solo piano works from Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii, subtle work that belies her incredible techincal skill through beautifully paced and meditative music.
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2013 Country: Japan Packaging: Cardstock gatefold foldover Recorded on September 21st, 2012 by Mike Marciano at Systems Two, New York.
"Fujii's first solo album since 2004's Sketches (Polystar), Gen Himmel (German for "toward heaven") is simply one of the most purely lyrical albums Fujii has ever made. She seems to choose each note carefully as she deliberately sets melody and harmony in motion over haunting ostinatos. It's also one of her sparest performances; each track is intensely focused and pared down to only the most essential notes. The less-is-more approach yields ravishing music that phrase-by-phrase reveals powerful and unexpected beauty.
With intense focus, she distills "In the Dusk" and "A.S." down to pure, concentrated melody, each solo building from one motif to the next with an inexorable and always engaging logic. "I Know You Don't Know" and "Saka" are darker meditations, with heavy chords and dusky low notes that still manage a majestic beauty thanks to her deliberate pacing and subtle keyboard touch -- low notes toll like church bells and treble notes glitter and shine. Tracks like "Ittari Kitari" and "Hesitation" are propelled by quirky left hand figures that keep the music moving forward with asymmetric steps. The title track and "Take Right" blend in prepared piano for dazzling displays of improvisation that fully integrates unusual timbres, rhythmic variety, and gorgeous melody. A calm joy permeates the entire album.
"When I play solo, I need to hear to myself and listen carefully," Fujii says. "I also get some inspiration from the silence I hear between notes. For me playing in groups is more about self-expression, and playing solo is more like meditation. I tried to take my time and not push myself too much."-Brathwaite & Katz