Ikue Mori/Satoko Fujii + Natsuki Tamura have their own file-trading project, Prickly Pear Cactus. Step right into their world of bleeps, bloops, distorted piano, and a myriad of other-worldly noises on the opening title track, where electronic musician Mori and pianist Fujii are joined by Fujii’s husband, the audacious trumpeter Natsuki Tamura. It’s the kind of onslaught that separates the potential audience into those who are merely curious and those who are thrilled by the passionate creativity that’s displayed. Count me among the fiercely committed, open to whatever weirdness these radically adventuresome players provide. The blend of Fujii’s piano musings, full of surprising leaps and startling shifts in tempo, with Mori’s everything but the kitchen sink electronics is unusually absorbing. Tamura’s bravura trumpet stylings add another layer of craziness to the proceedings on four tracks. With Fujii and Tamura at home in Kobe City, Japan, and Mori at home in New York, the pieces evolved in various ways, with Mori providing the final mix and edits. The line between composition and improvisation, shaky at best in a wide variety of situations, becomes more blurred in the deliberate and time-delayed nature of the file sharing process. Even more than usual with improvised music, a blow-by-blow description of the music on Prickly Pear Cactus would be totally beside the point. So I’ll just say that Prickly Pear Cactus is a gas, and one of the few positive ramifications of the Earth’s plague year. Great on headphones, too!
Libra 203-062; Natsuki Tamura (tpt on *) Satoko Fujii (p) Ikue Mori (elec); NYC (Mori) & Kobe City (Fujii & Tamura), 2020; Prickly Pear Cactus*/ Sweet Fish/ Guerrilla Rain/ Mountain Stream*/ Overnight Mushroom/ Empty Factory/ In the Water*/ Turning/ Muddy Stream*/ Sign; 53:50. librarecords.com
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