Mahobin literally means “magic bottle” in Japanese and is used as the word for a Thermos bottle. To keep the musical proceedings both hot and magical, Satoko Fujii is using it as the name of a new quartet with Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, Lotte Anker on saxophone, and Ikue Mori on electronics. Their first release, and the eighth in Fujii’s 2018 marathon, is Live At Big Apple In Kobe. The disc offers a free-wheeling soundscape conjured by Tamura’s brash trumpet, Anker’s passionately fluid sax, Fujii’s complex piano stylings, and the utter unpredictability of Mori’s electronic manipulations. It all makes for an indescribable brew with new adventures in improvisation coming at you all the time. Most of the disc’s time is given over to a piece that they call Rainbow Elephant, an instantaneous concoction that finds its own balance in a natural blend of solo and collective improvisation. The comparatively brief Yellow Sky is edgier, a sort of sonic game with the players maneuvering to bounce the listener’s focus quickly from event to event. It all sounds like it was a great night for improvising at the Big Apple, with music now happily available for repeated home enjoyment.
Libra 204-050; Natsuki Tamura (tp) Lotte Anker (sax) Satoko Fujii (p) Ikue Mori (elec); Kobe, Japan, February 23, 2018; Rainbow Elephant/ Yellow Sky; 49:32. www.librarecords.com
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