There are times-and they are very rare-when musicians just
click instantly. Confluence (available July 26 via Libra Records) captures just
such a moment between pianist-composer Satoko Fujii and Spanish drummer Ramon
Lopez. Although Lopez and Fujii had known each other for several years, they
had only played together once before in a trio. When the opportunity arose for
them to record as a duo in New York, they knew they had to seize the chance to
make an album. With no advance planning, they simply began to play in the
studio and something very special happened.
"This recording was a kind of a miracle for me,"
Fujii says. "We didn't talk about anything before we played. Ramon is a
person with a big and deep heart. When we started recording, something came
down to me that I didn't expect. I felt that the room was filled with music and
love. It was such a beautiful moment that I ended up playing in a very quiet
and peaceful way."
Indeed, Confluence features some of the most delicate and
nuanced playing in each of the participant's careers. Fujii opens
"Asatsuyu," one of two of her own originals included on the disc,
with a solo that emphasizes the graceful freedom and subtly of her line. Lopez
enters discretely on brushes, a nonintrusive and supportive presence. The
hushed calm of the moment provides ample opportunity to fully appreciate his
unique orchestration of the drum kit and the conversational flow of his
rhythms.
Their easy rapport continues on "Road Salt." Fujii
begins by plucking sounds on the inside of the piano and Lopez matches the
metallic ping of the piano wires with gentle swirl of brushes on cymbals. When
Fujii proposes a melody from the keyboard, Lopez taps his approval and they
start off in a new direction. It's a quietly joyful performance that climaxes
in an ecstatic burst of rhythmic energy and is so perfectly structured it's
hard to believe it's all improvised.
In fact, attention to structure and detail are hallmarks of
the entire album. "Three Days Later," another Fujii original,
showcases the growing refinement of Fujii's improvising. She speaks volumes
with a mere two chords or a distilled turn of phrase. She's never been more
poetic. Lopez finds the perfect sound or gesture to support or embellish the
evanescent beauty of her playing. "Tick Down" evolves from soft-focus
prepared piano through unsettled melodic pathways to blissful vamps, absorbing
different techniques and ideas into a unified whole. A high-pitched, eerily
beautiful drone from the piano strings frames "Quiet Shadow,"
providing a rich backdrop for the subtle sound manipulations of Lopez.
- over -
"Run!" begins and ends with fast, sharply
articulated phrases and crashing chords from the piano and a skein of drum
rhythms that help define the ebb and surge of the music. Each improvisation on
the album feels complete and distinct.
Spanish drummer, percussionist, and composer Ramon Lopez is
a master of many styles. Besides his deep involvement in free jazz and
improvisation, he studied tabla with Krishna Govinda K.C., and performed with
some of the world's leading flamenco artists. His first recording under his
name, 11 Drum Songs (Leo Lab), an album of solo percussion, was released in
1997. From 1997 to 2000 he was drummer in the renowned French Orchestre
National de Jazz under Didier Levallet. His musical endeavors have always been
challenging, from his interpretation of songs from the Spanish Civil War to his
duos dedicated to Roland Kirk (2002). The French government named him Chevalier
of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2008. Recently he's had a fruitful
association with English bassist Barry Guy, recording a duet with him, and
appearing as a regular member of his Blue Shroud orchestra. In addition, he has
recorded or performed with Joachim Kuhn, Angelica Sanchez, Agusti Fernandez,
Joe Morris, and many others.
Critics and fans alike hail pianist and composer Satoko
Fujii as one of the most original voices in jazz today. She's "a virtuoso
piano improviser, an original composer and a bandleader who gets the best
collaborators to deliver," says John Fordham in The Guardian. In concert
and on more than 80 albums as a leader or co-leader, she synthesizes jazz, contemporary
classical, avant-rock, and folk musics into an innovative style instantly
recognizable as hers alone. A prolific band leader and recording artist, she
celebrated her 60th birthday in 2018 by releasing one album a month from bands
old and new, from solo to large ensemble. Franz A. Matzner in All About Jazz
likened the twelve albums to "an ecosystem of independently thriving
organisms linked by the shared soil of Fujii's artistic heritage and shaped by
the forces of her creativity."
Over the years, Fujii has led some of the most consistently
creative ensembles in modern improvised music, including her trio with bassist
Mark Dresser and drummer Jim Black and an electrifying avant-rock quartet
featuring drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of The Ruins. Her ongoing duet project with
husband Natsuki Tamura released their sixth recording, Kisaragi, in 2017.
"The duo's commitment to producing new sounds based on fresh ideas is
second only to their musicianship," says Karl Ackermann in All About Jazz.
Aspiration, a CD by an ad hoc quartet featuring Wadada Leo Smith, Tamura, and
Ikue Mori, was released in 2017 to wide acclaim. "Four musicians who
regularly aspire for greater heights with each venture reach the summit
together on Aspiration," writes S. Victor Aaron in Something Else. As the
leader of no less than five orchestras in the U.S., Germany, and Japan (two of
which, Berlin and Tokyo, released new CDs in 2018), Fujii has also established
herself as one of the world's leading composers for large jazz ensembles,
leading Cadence magazine to call her, "the Ellington of free jazz."
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