Satoko Fujii
Satoko Fujii ( Japanese 藤井 郷 子 , Fujii Satoko ; born October 9, 1958 in Tokyo ) is a Japanese avant-garde jazz pianist and composer . Versatile "Influences from classical to folklore and jazz to heavy metal and punk flow together in their game with surprising processes."
Live and act
Fujii began playing the piano at the age of four, received a classical education and then engaged in improvisation and jazz. At the age of 20 she stopped playing the piano and pursued archaic chants in a vocal band. In 1985 she came to the United States for the first time, studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston with Bill Pierce and Herb Pomeroy , where she graduated in 1987 and returned to Japan. In 1993 she returned to the USA and studied jazz performance at the New England Conservatory of Music with George Russell and Paul Bley , from which she graduated in 1996.
A duo album with Paul Bley ( Something about Water ) was created in two sessions around the turn of 1994/95 , followed a year later by her solo album Indication ; from 1997 she worked mainly in duo / trio formations and with larger ensembles, for example for the albums South Wind (1997) and Jo , in which musicians such as Andy Laster , Tony Malaby , Herb Robertson Chris Speed and Jack Walrath participated. In 1998 Fujii worked in a trio with Jim Black and Mark Dresser ; 1999 with the violinist Mark Feldman ; In addition to duos, the album also features solo pieces by Fujii ( Behind the Notes ).
Between 2001 and 2003 she worked with musicians such as Ellery Eskelin , Dave Ballou , Herb Robertson, Joey Sellers on her big band project Blueprint , which echoes Toshiko Akiyoshi's orchestra. On her trio album Illusion Suite from 2003 - again with Mark Dresser and Jim Black - Fujii turned to free improvisational music; In 2004 she expanded the band with her husband, the trumpeter Natsuki Tamura , to a quartet ( Live in Japan 2004 )
Satoko Fujii lives with Natsuki Tamura alternately in Japan and New York City. She has also worked with the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra , Carla Kihlstedt , Nate McBride , Alister Spence and Jane Wang .
Discographic notes
- South Wind (Libra, 1997)
- Jo (Buzz, 1998)
- Kitsune-bi ( Tzadik , 1998) with Mark Dresser, Jim Black
- April Shower (Buzz, 1999) with Mark Feldman
- Illusion Suite (Libra, 2003) with Mark Dresser and Jim Black
- Live in Japan 2004 (Natsat, 2004) with Natsuki Tamura, Dresser and Black
- Chun (Libra Records, 2008)
- Min-Yoh Ensemble: Watershed (Libra, 2011)
- Kaze: Rafale (Libra, 2011)
- Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Eto (Libra, 2011) with Chris Speed , Ellery Eskelin , Curtis Hasselbring , Herb Robertson , Joe Fiedler ; Frank London
- Satoko Fujii / Natsuki Tamura : Muku (Libra Records, 2012)
- Spring Storm (Libra, 2013), with Todd Nicholson , Takashi Itani
- Gen Himmel (Libra, 2013) solo
- Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin Ichigo Ichie (Libra, 2015), with Richard Koch , Nikolaus Neuser , Matthias Müller , Matthias Schubert , Gebhard Ullmann , Paulina Owczarek , Natsuki Tamura , Kazuhisa Uchihashi , Jan Roder , Michael Griener , Peter Orins
- Satoko Fujii / Joe Fonda: Duet (Long Song Records, 2016)
- Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo: Peace (Tribute to Kelly Churko) (Libra, 2017)
- Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Fukushima (Libra Records, 2017)
- Kaze: Atody Man (2018), with Natsuki Tamura , Christian Pruvost , Peter Orins
- Satoko Fujii / Joe Fonda / Gianni Mimmo : Triad (Long Song Records, 2018)
- Satoko Fujii / Natsuki Tamura / Takashi Itani : This Is It! (Libra Records, 2018)
- Satoko Fujii / Yuko Yamaoka: Diary 2005-2015: Yuko Yamaoka Plays the Music of Satoko Fujii (Libra Records, 2018)
- Kikoeru: Tribute to Masaya Kimura (Libra, 2019)
- Triad (2019), with Joe Fonda , Gianni Mimmo
- Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Entity (Libra, 2019)
Lexical entries
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .
- Wolf Kampmann (Ed.), With the assistance of Ekkehard Jost : Reclams Jazzlexikon . Reclam, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-15-010528-5 .
Web links
- Satoko Fujii's website (English, Japanese)
- Satoko Fujii interview in allaboutjazz.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wolf Kampmann Reclams Jazzlexikon , p. 184
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Fujii, Satoko |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 藤井 郷 子 (Japanese) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese jazz pianist |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 9, 1958 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Tokyo |