Satoko Fujii: Torrent

  Blessed with a fecund musical imagination and fleet fingers wedded to impeccable technique plus formidable determination, the prolific pianist Satoko Fujii is at her best on Torrent. The pandemic limited her to playing at home, either solo or with her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura. This solo piano recital was recorded in the municipal theater in Iwo City, Japan, and was totally spontaneous. As she notes, after the restrictions due to Covid, she says she feels “more comfortable now playing unaccompanied. It’s like looking down into myself.” The audience, both in Iyo City and now at home, reaps the benefits of her introspection. Besides playing the piano at home, she must have done a fair amount of experimentation with pedals and playing the insides of the instrument. Some of the sounds she produces for this concert are other-worldly, almost electronic in places. The use of extended techniques is most pronounced on the endlessly fascinating Cut the Painter, with manipulation of the strings, bangs on different parts of the instrument, and a curious drone effect, plus gentle melodies from the keyboard. All of her music is wildly unpredictable, as short phrases lead to dense passages and calm sections are contrasted with turbulent bursts of sound. Light on the Sea Surface is one of the more impressive pieces on the program. In the first half, a constant flow of ripples from the right hand is contrasted with some heavy and dark chords from the left hand. The second half of the performance is somewhat solemn, with lots of silence and more strong work at the bass end of the piano. The track ends with a thunderous attack, heavy on the bass, before dissolving into silence. The first few minutes of the peaceful Horizon combine a gentle melody with occasional light strums directly on the piano’s strings. Slowly, the music becomes more aggressive and stormy. The finale, Wave Crest, starts out with a call-and-response pattern between the two hands. The approach is reminiscent of Cecil Taylor’s solo performances, both at the start and as the piece evolves into dense and busy flurries of notes in a sumptuous display of Fujii’s formidable and occasionally forbidding playing. Torrent is a total triumph, beautifully recorded, and a journey worth savoring again and again. 

Libra 201-072; Satoko Fujii (p); Iyo City, Japan, October 10, 2022; Torrent/ Voyage/ Light on the Sea Surface/ Cut the Painter/ Horizon/ Wave Crest; 52:56. satokofujii.bandcamp.com www.librarecords.com

Rich Halley: Fire Within

  Fire Within is the third collaboration between saxophonist Rich Halley and pianist Matthew Shipp’s trio with Michael Bisio on bass and Newman Taylor Baker on drums. Their rapport is inspiring through five collectively composed performances. The level of unconscious synchronicity the quartet displays is genuinely uncanny, as the musical focus shifts from player to player with an intuitive logic. Halley, with a formidable command of his instrument, seems more ruminative than I’ve heard him play in the past. While his tone may be a bit lighter, his imagination hasn’t flagged at all. Angular Logic offers some of his most robust and excitable playing of the session, provoking the rhythm section into some complex and upbeat areas. The always wonderful Matthew Shipp is in very fine form, accompanying Halley with immense sensitivity and soloing with a delicious sense of propulsion. With his big sound, bassist Bisio holds down the bottom with a calm and measured approach to his improvisations. Baker, who lays out often, is a vigorous and sensitive drummer, perfectly attuned to the needs of the music. His African-flavored opening to Following the Stream sets the stage for a turbocharged exploration of the many possibilities of the format, from a calm piano solo to furious onslaughts of sound from Halley’s tenor sax. Only the brief and moody Through Still Air, with its focus on Bisio’s whiny arco playing, failed to excite me. Fire Within presents a formidable improvising ensemble, well worth hearing. Definitely recommended. 

Pine Eagle 015; Rich Halley (ts) Matthew Shipp (p) Michael Bisio (b) Newman Taylor Baker (d); Brooklyn, NY, July 12, 2023; Fire Within/ Inferred/ Angular Logic/ Through Still Air/ Following the Stream; 54:31. www.richhalley.com

Tomas Fujiwara: Pith

  Percussionist Tomas Fujiwara leads his 7 Poets Trio, with Patricia Brennan on vibes and Tomeka Reid on cello, on the Out Of Your Head release Pith. Now, pith is a very interesting word, going back to before the 12th century. It originally meant a “central strand of spongy tissue in the stems of most vascular plants,” but came to also mean “the essential core”. These days, the word is most often heard as part of the adjective “pithy”. What does this have to do with the music, you may ask. The 7 Poets Trio dives right into the central conundrum of improvised music: with a given set of musicians, how can we balance their individuality and the need for group cohesion in a way that honors the music above all? That’s the pith of the situation. And the trio addresses that question with a series of delicately balanced and poised performances. Fujiwara composed all the material, save for Other, a collective free-for-all. His melodies serve as frameworks for inspired solos and dynamic interplay. As a teenager, Fujiwara studied with the great Boston drummer Alan Dawson before moving to New York to immerse himself in the scene there. His complex and inventive playing has enlivened many an ensemble, and he seems to be busy forming new ones all the time. The 7 Poets Trio is his latest venture, and it shows a lot of potential for further development. The imaginative cellist Tomeka Raid has quite a lot of tricks up her sleeves, from bass-like walking lines to extended arco technique. On the atmospheric and tempo-less Resolve, she delivers a ghostly sound with the bow while Fujiwara softly uses mallets on cymbals and drums. All the while Brennan is laying down an extended melodic line. Mysterious at first, the piece carefully turns into a peaceful ballad. Josho. with Fujiwara keeping a light and steady beat, is the most “jazzy” of his tunes, with Brennan and Reid each contributing succinct solos. On vibes, Brennan maintains a bright sound and a steady flow of ideas, making her a perfect foil to Fujiwara’s equally creative drumming. Pith is a thoroughly delightful release, highly recommended. 

Out Of Your Head OOYH 022; Patricia Brennan (vib) Tomeka Reid (clo) Tomas Fujiwara (d); New Haven, CT, April 15, 2023; Solace/Swelter/ Resolve/ Josho/ Other/ Breath;  38:44. www.outofyourheadrecords.com