feature photo: IJ Biermann
Satoko Fujii regards every venture as an experiment: How can she try something that she hadn’t tried before? Maybe even something that no one has tried before?
In her role as a composer and conductor of jazz orchestras around the globe, her zeal for experimentation seems amped up even more than the smaller ensembles where she also plays piano. For Second Attempt (September 4 2026, Libra Records), Fujii dispenses with the whole idea of an overarching composition that frames each piece no matter how improvisational it turns out. Instead, she relies on bits of music that she typically cues to her band to play behind the soloists. She has seized on the idea of using these backing parts to make up the composition itself as it plays out. That’s the prime mover and main distinguishing feature behind Second Attempt.
Of course, every Orchestra record stands apart from every other one as a result of Fujii’s relentless pursuit of innovative approaches to music making. No matter how many surprises are sprung on a Satoko Fujii Orchestra piece, there will always be a new one that demonstrates the futility of pigeon-holing any of these ensembles into certain patterns or anything but the broadest of tendencies.
Exhibit One is “Second Attempt Part 1,” that begins and continues for some time as Liz Kosack’s synthesizer-generated space drone. Gradually, the horns blend in with this, casting aside the distinction between organic and technology-generated sounds. The featured soloist comes in the guise of Matthias Müller. What’s remarkable is how Müller plays his trombone in the same, humanistic, venerable and witty manner that Natsuki Tamura plays his trumpet. He sets the tone for the rest of the band as they nudge their way in, turning a murmur into a swell and — inevitably — a violent storm that abruptly ends to make way for the second section.
There are two drummers in this band and they take the spotlight for “Second Attempt Part 2.” Michael Griener and Peter Orins work together, not opposed to each other, and the rest of the ensemble breaks up the percussion-only party with straightforward but impactful phrases that illuminate the drums, not overwhelm them. Gerhard Ullman’s sax becomes the third featured player and the drummers alter their attack to accommodate the bawdy Ullman.
Is that enough surprises for you yet? Because “Second Attempt Part 3” raises the stakes even higher, by asking the musicians to put down their instruments for a spell and make music without instruments. The original idea was to use newspapers — tearing, crumpling them, reading them — but since that’s more of a visual effect, the papers were replaced by sound effects.
The piercing trumpet of Lina Allemano sets up “Second Attempt Part 4.” Even as the drums are rolling more than swinging and there’s the presence of an organ-like synth lurking in the background, Allemano makes this section very jazzy. The commotion that builds later gives away for bassist Jan Roder’s totally unaccompanied spotlight. Nikolaus Neuser (trumpet) and Mathias Schubert (tenor sax) get their own solo spots, these times with short parts written out for the band to play as backing…those bits that are now the building blocks for the whole arrangement.
“Second Attempt Part 5” is of a more formal substance, with majestically accompanied solos from Paulina Owczarek (baritone sax) and finally, Natsuki Tamura, who plays his trumpet with tenderness. But Tamura is also very practiced at the art of playing music without an instrument and he closes out the whole proceedings with some vocal riffing.
Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin’s Second Attempt, which is actually this orchestra’s third album, is the also third of four Satoko Fujii Orchestra albums planned for release in 2026. Read our review on the second release here.
- Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin – ‘Second Attempt’ (2026) - September 1, 2026
- Sylvie Courvoisier w/ Patricia Brennan, Thomas Morgan + Dan Weiss, “At Risk” (2026): Something Else! sneak peek - August 28, 2026
- Denny Zeitlin – ‘Odyssey’ (2026) - August 23, 2026
