With a prepared piano, Satoko Fujii once again makes “music that no one has ever heard before.”

The piano/vibraphones duo isn’t exactly a new concept, but Satoko Fujii and Taiko Saito take that concept to places it’s never been before. The exotic places they visit make ‘Beyond’ a trip well worth taking.

Satoko Fujii and Tatsuya Yoshida are heavyweights in Japan but are both world-class vanguard musicians. ‘Baikamo’ is a welcome return to their summit meetings on the edge of what is possible with just a piano and drums.

Satoko Fujii doesn’t play an instrument in her orchestra; she conducts it. Still, there is hardly a more accurate manifestation of her genius artistry.

This completes a year-long celebration of Satoko Fujii’s 60th birthday with the same inventiveness, grace and genius shown throughout the entire series.

The word ‘Mahobin’ means ‘thermos bottle’ but also ‘magic bottle’ in Japanese, and the magic made for ‘Live at Big Apple in Kobe’ that retained its passion throughout meant that this fledgling group had lived up to both meanings of the name.

The Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin really comes onto its own with ‘Ninety-Nine Years.’

Satoko Fujii’s newest combo is This Is It! and their debut album ‘1538’ can’t get much closer to improvisational music perfection.

Satoko Fujii is issuing an album in every month of 2018, and if there’s one musician with enough ensembles, projects and ideas to pull it off, it’s her.

feature photo: Bryan Murray Now boasting a remarkable ten albums over twenty years, Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York today takes another step forward with Fukushima (Libra Records), the first new recordings from Satoko Fujii’s American large ensemble project since 2014’s Shiki. The best big band leaders know how to exploitRead More