Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York - Shiki

[CraigP]

Satoko Fujii has brought back her collection of downtown all-stars for Shiki, the ninth album with her Orchestra New York. Here’s an excerpt from my review:

“Shiki, both the composition and the album as a whole, comes across as the trumpet section’s showcase, given the solos on the title track by Herb Robertson and Steve Bernstein, and for Natsuki Tamura’s contributions…

The album continues in the vein of its predecessor, Eto, in that the title composition plays more of a supportive role rather than standing out for its theme. Shiki, which means “four seasons”, presents a series of long simple motifs that rise and fall like the swell of waves, constantly building and releasing tension. The composition serves as a backdrop, framing a series of explorations by individual soloists. Just when you think the band has lost its way, Fujii re-introduces a thematic thread to pull the performance back together. “

You can read the full review of Shiki at Improvised.

[relyles]

Thanks. I picked up this along with the recent solo and trio recordings at her show in New Haven a couple of weeks ago. None of them have made it into the CD player yet, but perhaps this will inspire me to give them a listen.

[CraigP]

How was the show?

[relyles]

The New Haven show was good, but not great. I thought the drummer was just okay, and Tamura spent more time playing his little toys and playing other than straight trumpet, which I would have preferred. Some friends I attended with enjoyed it much more than me. I saw the same trio the next night at Vision Festival and was a bit underwhelmed.