Our Sunday Interview : Satoko Fujii

Photo by Eva Kapanadze

 

For our new idea of Sunday Interviews, we asked Japanese pianist, composer and conductor Satoko Fujii to complete the questionnaire. We are very grateful that she is willing to give this initiative a start. 

Here are her answers. 

1. What is your greatest joy in improvised music? 

I enjoy the direct expression of ideas and creativity, and the ability to immediately share those with people. Also the spontaneity and risk-taking. It’s truly music created in the moment.

2. What quality do you most admire in the musicians you perform with?

I admire collaborators who can make a statement with silence and know the right time to end.

3. Which historical musician/composer do you admire the most? If you could resurrect a musician to perform with, who would it be?

It is difficult to pick one, but I would say Paul Bley.

4. What would you still like to achieve musically in your life? 

I would like to make music that nobody has heard before.

5. Are you interested in popular music and - if yes - what music/artist do you particularly like

I love popular music. I grew up with it when I was in high school. Paul Simon is one of my favorite artists.

6. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I can’t think of anything. I am very happy to be myself.

7. Which of your albums are you most proud of? 

I can’t pick one. All of them are like my proud kids!

8. Once an album of yours is released, do you still listen to it? And how often?

When I plan my next project, I listen to my old albums just to see what I did and what did not do.

9. Which album (from any musician) have you listened to the most in your life? 

"People in Sorrow“ by Art Ensemble of Chicago.

10. What are you listening to at the moment? 

The new recording by the Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio.

11. What artist outside music inspires you? 

German-Swiss author Hermann Karl Hesse.

Here are the albums by Satoko Fujii that we reviewed over the years. We added links for the albums of the last five years. To find the other albums, just use the search engine of our blog. 

• Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura - in Krakow in November (Not Two Records, 2006) ***** 
• Gato Libre - Nomad (Nomansland Records, 2007) ***½
• Jimmy Weinstein - This Ocean (Ad Hoc 002, 2006) ****
• Double Duo - Crossword Puzzle (Libra, 2007) ****
• Satoko Fujii Min-Yoh Ensemble - Fujin Raijin (Victo, 2007) ****
• Satoko Fujii & Carla Kihlstedt - Minamo (Henceforth Records, 2007) ****
• Satoko Fujii Quartet - Bacchus (Onoff, 2007) ****½
• Gato Libre - Kuro (Libra, 2008) ****
• Satoko Fujii ... and bands ... looking back from the future ...
• Satoko Fujii Ma-Do - Heat Wave (Not Two, 2008) *****
• Natsuki Tamura & Satoko Fujii  - Chun (Libra, 2008) *****
• Satoko Fujii & Myra Melford - Under The Water (Libra, 2009) ****
• Raymond MacDonald - Cities (Nu-Jazz Europe, 2009) ****½
• Larry Ochs & Drumming Core - Stone Shift (RogueArt, 2009) ****
• Minamo - Kuroi Kawa/Black River (Tzadik, 2009) ****
• Satoko Fujii Ma-Do - Desert Ship (Not Two, 2009) ****½
• Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura and friends
• Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura - Muku (Libra, 2012) ****½
• Satoko Fujii Ma-Do – Time Stands Still (NotTwo Records, 2013) ****
• Satoko Fujii - Spring Storm & Time Stands Still (2013)
• Kaze - Tornado (Circum, 2013) ****½
• Satoko Fujii - Gen Himmel (Libra, 2013) ****½
• Gato Libre - DuDu (Libra, 2014) ****
• Kaze - Uminari (Circum Disc, 2015) ****½
• Satoko Fujii Tobira - Yamiyo Ni Karuso (Libra, 2015) ****½
• Porta Palace Collective - Neuroplastic Groove (Rudi Records, 2016) ****
• Satoko Fujii / Joe Fonda - Duet (Long Song Records, 2016) ****½
• Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo ‎– Peace (Tribute To Kelly Churko) (Libra, 2016) ****
• Satoko Fujii - Invisible Hand (Cortez, 2016) ****½
• Trouble Kaze - June (Circum Disc, 2017) ****
• Wadada Leo Smith / Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii / Ikue Mori - Aspiration (Libra, 2017) ****½
• Satoko Fujii Quartet ‎– Live At Jazz Room Cortez (Cortez Sound, 2017) ****
• Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York - Fukushima  (Libra Records, 2017) ****
• Satoko Fujii - Solo (Libra, 2018) *****
• Kaze - Atody Man (Libra, 2018) ****
• Satoko Fujii’s Orchestra Berlin - Ninety-Nine Years (Libra, 2018) ****½
• Kira Kira - Bright Force (Libra Records, 2018) ****½
• Fujii/Fonda/Mimmo - Triad (Long Song Records, 2018) ****½
• This Is It! - 1538 (Libra, 2018) ****½
• Larry Ochs Sax And Drumming Core - Wild Red Yellow (RogueArt, 2017) ****½
• Mahobin - Live at Big Apple in Kobe (Libra Records, 2018) ****½
• Satoko Fujii and Joe Fonda – Mizu (Long Song Records) ****½
• A Year (or 60) in the Making: Satoko Fujii's *Kanreki* 
• Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura - Pentas: Tribute to Eric and Chris Stern (Not Two, 2020) *****
• Natsuki Tamura & Satoko Fujii - Midsummer (Self, 2020) ****
• Natsuki Tamura & Satoko Fujii - Keshin (Self, 2020) ****
• Rafał Mazur ‎– The Great Tone Has No Sound (Fundacja Słuchaj!, 2020)
• Satoko Fujii - 24 albums reviewed
• Satoko Fujii and Joe Fonda – Thread of Light (FSR, 2022) ****
• Satoko Fujii - Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams (Libra, 2022)
• Satoko Fujii and Otomo Yoshihide – Perpetual Motion (Ayler, 2023) *****