Record Reviews

SATOKO FUJII ORCHESTRA BERLIN ~ ICHIGO ICHIE LIBRA 212-037 (Barcode: 4562169330375) ~ JAPAN ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 Japanese pianist / composer / bandleader Satoko FujiiFind albums by this artist is one of the most prolific and active international Jazz icons, leading several versions of an Orchestra, located in several cities around the globe in addition to several small ensembles. This album is a recording by the Orchestra BerlinFind albums by this artist, a twelve piece band that comprises mostly of German musicians, but also includes Fujii and her husband, trumpeter Natsuki TamuraFind albums by this artist, French drummer Peter OrinsFind albums by this artist and Polish saxophonist Paulina OwczarekFind albums by this artist. It presents the four parts suite that gives the album its title and one additional piece, all composed by Fujii. The music of Fujii is always full of innovation and groundbreaking steps towards expanding the boundaries of Jazz music, and this everlasting process of search is her trademark. But she also composes great melodic vistas, which in an orchestral environment like this one reach a climatic climax. The individual solo performances by the orchestra members lead to full orchestral passages, which define the overall structure of the music. Fujii carefully seeks out some of the most daring Jazz performers to become members of her various teams, and the level of the individual statements on this album is a great illustration of such a collection of incredible talents. The music is in many respects a continuation of the great European Jazz Orchestras of the late 1960s, starting with the British outfits led by Mike WestbrookFind albums by this artist and continental ensembles like Globe Unity OrchestraFind albums by this artist, brought up to date with contemporary compositional language. Fujii manages to push the orchestral idiom to its limits time after time, and this album is no different. Of course every true Jazz fan knows, either if he admits it or not, that there is nothing remotely as powerful aesthetically and emotionally as a full orchestra sound, and listening to this album clearly points that out. The wonderful tension created between the solos, duets and other chamber units formed within the orchestra and the entire band playing together is the secret weapon of this music and every moment of it is absolutely priceless. Of course this is by far not an easy musical experience, and a trained ear and open-mindedness should definitely be assumed by the potential listener. The reward is of course proportional to the effort needed to grasp the intricacy and internal beauty of this music. Definitely highly recommended!

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SATOKO FUJII ORCHESTRA BERLIN ~ NINETY-NINE YEARS LIBRA 211-047 (Barcode: 4562169330474) ~ JAPAN ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018 This is an album by Japanese pianist / composer / bandleader Satoko FujiiFind albums by this artist, one of the most prominent representatives of the contemporary Avant-Garde Jazz activists. The album was recorded with an eleven piece Orchestra Berlin, one of Fujii´s permanent ensembles, which features mostly German musicians, but includes also her Japanese husband, trumpeter Natsuki TamuraFind albums by this artist, French drummer Peter OrinsFind albums by this artist and Polish saxophonist Paulina OwczarekFind albums by this artist. The album presents five extended original orchestral compositions, all by Fujii and is one of the twelve albums Fujii released in 2018 (one every month) to celebrate her 60th Birthday. Her cumulating discography since 1991 includes well over a hundred albums. The music is everything contemporary Avant-Garde Big Band has to offer: composed parts expanded into lengthy improvised passages, several sub-ensembles constantly developing within the frame of the Big Band (duos, trios, etc.) sublime individual soloing and group improvisations and much more. Fujii skillfully uses the entire arsenal at her disposal to continue the splendid tradition of European Avant-Garde Big Bands, which goes several decades into the past, initiated by the British Big Bands led by Barry GuyFind albums by this artist, Mike WestbrookFind albums by this artist and others and later European parallels like Globe Unity OrchestraFind albums by this artist and others. Since contemporary activity in this particular area is rather limited today, Fujii´s recordings are even more important and significant. Of course Avant-Garde Jazz never was music for the masses, and this intellectually challenging offering is of interest to a sadly miniscule group of potential listeners, who are able to appreciate and enjoy it. The faithful aficionados will find this music absolutely stunning of course, which is hardly surprising. Wholeheartedly recommended to the connoisseurs of the genre!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 19/03/2019

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GARBOWSKI / CRUZ / ORINS ~ LINES OF FLUX IMP 002 (Barcode: 193428143487) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by the Improvised Music trio comprising of Polish bassist / composer Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist and French guitarist Ivann CruzFind albums by this artist and drummer Peter OrinsFind albums by this artist, but not the first recording which captures these three musicians together as they also recorded the "Rashomon EffectFind albums with this title" album in a quartet setting five years earlier. The music was recorded at the Institute of Music Performance, a wonderfully unique space in Katowice, where Grabowski organizes many events, concerts and recordings; a place where music magic happens. The album presents twelve relatively short spontaneous improvisations, all credited to the three members of the trio. In contrast to the above mentioned earlier album, the music captured here is completely improvised and offers almost none of the conventional points of reference – melody, harmony and rhythm – that most music listeners expect to find when faced by music. But people who extend their musical tolerance to accept unconventional music should find this album highly rewarding. Improvised Music performed by more than one person is all about communication, be it the ability to exchange ideas with the other musicians in the ensemble and even better to engage the listeners in an intellectual dialog of instant questions and answers, when the music oscillates between the performers and the audience. All these three musicians are of course veterans of the European Improvised Music scene and their inspired performances here are not in the least surprising. They all have many impressive recordings in their portfolios and the long lasting partnership between them obviously strengthens the ability to communicate when on stage. Overall this is a delicate, contemplative piece of Improvised Music, which should satisfy the connoisseurs of the genre and shed more light on the musicians involved, as they surely deserve praise for their efforts. Of course this album again emphasizes the vigor of the Polish Improvised Music scene, which has little rivalry elsewhere.

Updated: 09/06/2019Posted: 09/06/2019

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GARBOWSKI-CRUZ QUARTET ~ RASHOMON EFFECT IMP 002 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2012 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by the international Jazz quartet co-led by Polish bassist / composer Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist and French guitarist / composer Ivann CruzFind albums by this artist and also including Finnish reedman Kari HeinilaFind albums by this artist and French drummer Peter OrinsFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original compositions, four each composed by Garbowski and Cruz and the remaining two co-composed by them. Musically the album is an attempt to create a modern sound which bridges between Jazz and Rock without referring to the weathered Jazz-Rock Fusion armory, and manages to do so with elegance, flair and a dash of humor. Although the titles of the compositions seem to suggest a musical suite of sorts, the compositions themselves are quite diverse and touch upon a plethora of different sub-genres, with hints of Classical, Baroque, Jazz of course and a distinctive Rocky edge, emphasized by the sound of the guitar and the dynamics of the drums. The saxophone and especially the wonderful flute playing are the improvisational facets of the music and the virtuoso bass performances in the background keep the entire, often quite complex structures, in perfect harmony of the spheres. All four musicians are obviously masters of the trade and each one contributes immensely to achieve the overall effect. There is a superb relationship within this quartet based on mutual respect and common dedication, which produces a result greater than the sum of its parts. These performances, which are by far not straightforward or trivial, sound effortless and natural simply because they are executed by a team rather than just four musicians playing together. There is plenty of open space within the music for all four individuals to show off their particular talents, but their group performances are the absolute highlight of this album. When great music is combined with superb performances the result becomes inspirational, as it is in this particular case. This is fresh, intelligent, stirring and refreshing music that kicks butt and bites, like only very few other albums do at this point of time. Of course Jazz purist will find it too spicy at times and Fusion purist will find it to complex while drinking Budd, but who cares about purists anyway? This music deserves to be heard and enjoyed and appreciated, so grab it if you find it, as life is too short for boring music!

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TATVAMASI ~ THE THIRD EAR MUSIC AUDIO CAVE 2020/013 (Barcode: 5908298549186) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2018 - 2019 Released: 2020 This is the sixth album by Polish quartet TatvamasiFind albums by this artist, which documents a series of music meetings held under the slogan of the album´s title, recorded over a period of couple of years by the four members of the ensemble: guitarist Grzegorz LesiakFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Tomasz PiatekFind albums by this artist, bassist Lukasz DownarFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof RedasFind albums by this artist and a plethora of guests from Poland and abroad, including Avant-Garde drummers Vasco TrillaFind albums by this artist from Spain and Peter OrinsFind albums by this artist from France. The album presents seven compositions, all uncredited and assumed to be a result of improvisations by the participating musicians. The music, as expected from the underlying concept, is a series of extended improvisations, based on sketchy melodic fragments and rhythm patterns, which characterizes Improvised Music. It preserves to some extent the usual Jazz-Rock Fusion modus operandi of Tatvamasi that was dominating their earlier recordings, but expands the horizons and embraces Free Improvisation, basically letting things happen on the fly as they develop. The three pieces recorded by a quartet, with vocalist Marta GrzywaczFind albums by this artist (and without Piatek) are definitely the high point of the entire album pointing to a direction worth pursuing. To be perfectly honest, as much as I like Tatvamasi, this stuff just doesn´t work for me as well as I expected it would. I admit to being somewhat fed up with the Improvised Music recordings that the Polish scene produces en mass and often without any selective process on one hand, and the fact that throwing a group of unrelated musicians in one room and let them play whatever comes to mind very rarely guarantees a spectacular result on the other hand. I appreciate the will to explore and search, and the courage to try something new, but hope this is a one time extravaganza, and the music will return to more productive exploration in the future. Overall this is an interesting experiment, and as such worthy of appreciation, but the resulting music, stripped of the circumstantial excitement, is rather pale summa summarum, with just occasional interesting moments. Sorry guys, it´s just me.

Updated: 12/01/2021Posted: 12/01/2021

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WEI3 ~ KALIKO CIRCUM 009 ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by the International Jazz trio WEI3Find albums by this artist, which comprises of German (of Indian origin) pianist Jarry SinglaFind albums by this artist, Polish bassist Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist and French drummer Peter OrinsFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original compositions, five of which are by Singla, four by Garbowski and one is a sacral piece. Although basically a classic Jazz piano trio, WEI3 takes this format way beyond its typical modus operandi, venturing deeply into modern Jazz with many degrees of freedom and spontaneity. Although melody based, the music allows for exploration of different tonalities and the use of electronics, although moderate, adds yet another dimension to the proceedings. Some World Music influences are also present. The individual performances by these three musicians are spectacular from start to finish and their combined talents create an ensemble sound, which is very challenging, intelligent and deeply aesthetic, reflecting the best European qualities found in contemporary Jazz Overall this is a superb debut effort, which emphasizes the endless possibilities for Jazz to constantly develop and conquer uncharted territory. The greatest asset of this album is the fact that the music is very advanced and challenging and yet seems to be perfectly acceptable by the vast majority of Jazz listeners, making it an excellent tool to develop the understanding and love of non-trivial music. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 21/04/2017Posted: 21/04/2017

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