The two-piano format has never been a favorite of mine, but maybe I haven’t listened to the right players. Pianist/composers Satoko Fujii & Myra Melford joined one another on stage at a jazz festival in Austria, and the distilled results of their appearance is preserved on Katarahi. The album title is a Japanese word, meaning a heart-to-heart conversation between intimate friends, a beautiful concept and the clearest way to characterize the musical flow of their music. As Fujii says to Ed Hazell for his liner notes, “We both write a lot, and I enjoy playing her compositions.” Melford comments that “She’s so present in the moment that it’s easy to connect and build the music together.” That’s exactly what they do, utilizing a quartet of Melford’s pieces, a trio of Fujii’s, and a whole lot of intuitive improvisation. Almost silent at times, and poundingly intense the next, the music of Katarahi never fails to surprise and delight. Not to be missed.
RogueArt ROG-0149; Satoko Fujii, Myra Melford (p); Leibnitz, Austria, September 24, 2024; Interlude I/ Signpost/ Pairs/ Chalk/ Kaiwa/ IV/ From Sometime; 51:38. www.roguart.com
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