by Don Berryman
Avant-garde composer, pianist, arranger, and bandleader Satoko Fujii is known for the variety and complexity of her compositions and the ferocity of her playing. I find her piano music intriguing with unnameable chords, unpredictable rhythms, and haunting melodic flights. Her Tokyo Trio is releasing their third recording, which is also their first studio recording, Dream a Dream on March 28th. The first stop on the supporting North American tour is the Berlin jazz club in Minneapolis on March 27th. This is also Satoko Fujii’s first visit to Minneapolis.
Satoko Fujii
Satoko Fujii was born in Tokyo, Japan. She began playing piano at age four, studying classical music until she was 20. She then started to study jazz and in 1985 she was awarded a scholarship to the Berklee School of Music. Upon graduating from Berklee she returned to Japan where she played many jazz clubs and worked as a session musician and teacher. She returned to the U.S. in 1993 to study at the New England Conservatory of Music, where her teachers included George Russell, Cecil McBee, and avant-garde piano pioneer Paul Bley. Bley became a mentor with whom she recorded her stunning debut album Something About Water in 1996. She has since recorded over 100 CDs as leader or co-leader with varying size ensembles from duos to full orchestras. Fujii has established herself as one of the world’s leading 21st century avant-garde composers for large jazz ensembles, prompting Cadence magazine to call her “the Ellington of free jazz.”
Fujii fully explores all the sounds a piano can produce. For example, on the album Beyond with vibraphonist Taiko Saito, she used a prepared piano, a method of extending and altering sounds by placing objects on or between the strings. That technique was developed by the 20th century composer John Cage.
In a New York Times article Giovanni Russonello writes: “Across all of Fujii’s work, contradictions come into balance; though her music is abstract and sometimes wild, each element shimmers with clarity. In situations large and small, her tender attention to detail is equaled by her ability to convey enormous breadth and textural range”.
Dream a Dream on Libra Records
Since they debuted at Tokyo’s legendary jazz club, Pitt Inn, in 2019, Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio with bassist Takashi Sugawa and drummer Ittetsu Takemura has devoted itself to perfecting their collective sound. The music on the new album was recorded in the middle of a 2024 European tour at Studio Sextan, Paris, France on May 22, 2024. They had also worked on the material during an earlier tour of Japan. They explored and refined Fujii’s compositions until improvisation and composition co-exist “without borders,” as Fujii puts it.This balance between composition and improvisation is what makes this trio so special. They are all masters of their individual instruments and are comfortable creating music together and working without a net.
Fujii talks about the process and the blend of composition and improvisation on the Dream a Dream recording: “Sometimes I write a lot, but other times I write just a few bars to set the mood, For instance, ‘Dream a Dream’ has a long theme that is very much written but then we improvise and I use some parts from the theme to cue a change in the feel. ‘Summer Day’ has very few written parts, but I use them as cues to start the next section. I love composing the structure as well. Solos, duos, and collective sections are very much planned but we always can change them as we listen and play.”
My impressions follow.
The album opens ironically with a “Second Step” which begins with a thundering piano solo with dark dense chords followed by sprinkles and clusters of chords across the range of the piano. The drum joins in unison with piano to introduce a woody percussive bass solo which is answered by a melodic drum solo. The trio engages and emerges together with flights of freedom.
The title track presents an amazing soundscape starting with bowed bass and tapping, scratching percussion. The piano joins with a sustained thunderous chord. The dream unfolds as an evocative world of sound. The tempo varies throughout the 18 minutes plus that it lasts.
“Summer Day” begins with a cymbal solo that is joined by a raspily bowed bass and staccato piano. There are some amazing light figures played on piano followed by cacophonous, sweeping runs.
“Rain Drop” seems based on the rhythm of dripping water with light notes on bass, piano and cymbals as the intensity builds.
The final track is“Aruku” which means to walk or stroll, but this stroll takes us through an adventurous array of sounds. An off-beat drum solo leads to a bass solo. The trio continues as tempo and intensity builds to a gallop and a startling sudden conclusion.
Track Listing:
- Second Step -11’34”
- Dream a Dream -18’51”
- Summer Day -8’53”
- Rain Drop -6’30”
Berlin Jazz Club in Minneapolis
In the North Loop a.k.a. the Warehouse District of Minneapolis, on First Street sits a small club that has managed to thrive presenting jazz and other creative music. In just a little over a year it has become the premiere spot for creative music and one of my favorite night spots. With an excellent sound system, good sight lines, imaginative food and drinks, and great service they strike a good balance between the urbane and the bohemian.
Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio plays at the Berlin Jazz Club on March 27th at 7:30 PM. I expect this to sell out, so I recommend reserving early. Get tickets at https://www.berlinmpls.com/calendar/satoko-fujii-tokyo-trio
Full North American Tour dates
Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio
Satoko Fujii – piano
Natto Maki – bass
Oden – drums
- Thursday, March 27 at Berlin, 204 N. 1st St., Minneapolis, MN.7:30 p.m. Information at exploretock.com.
- Friday, March 28 at Constellation, 3111 N. Western Avenue, Chicago, IL.8:30 p.m. Information at constellation-chicago.com.
- Sunday, March 30 at Lilypad,1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA. 6–9 p.m. Presented by This Music. Double bill with Spatial Decay. Information at lilypadinman.com.
- Monday, March 31 at Institute for the Musical Arts, 165 Cape St., Goshen, MA. 7:30 p.m. Presented by Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares. $15. Information at jazzshares.org.
- Tuesday, April 1 at New England Conservatory, Eben Jordan Ensemble Room, Boston, MA. 2 p.m. Masterclass including performance with Toyko Trio. Free. Information at necmusic.edu.
- Wednesday, April 2 at IBeam, 168 7th St., Brooklyn, NY. 8 p.m. $20. Information at ibeambrooklyn.com.
- Friday, April 4 at Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Avenue, Toronto, ONT. 8 p.m. $25, $20 advance. Information at tranzac.org.
- Saturday, April 5 at Glebe-St. James United Church, 650 Lyon St. S, Ottawa, ONT. 8:30 p.m. $25.
- Sunday, April 6 at Sala Rossa, 4848 St. Laurent Boulevard, Montreal, QC.7:30 p.m. Opening act, Pablo Jimenez, Adrienne Munden Dixon. $25, $20 advance. Information at artsinthemargins.org.
- Tuesday, April 8 at 8East, 8 E. Pender St., Vancouver, BC. 8 p.m. Presented by Barking Sphinx Performance Society. Suggested donation $10-$20. Information at 8east.ca or barkingsphinx.com.
Link to original Jazz Police article: http://jazzpolice.com/archives/17130
