Japanese
Satoko Fujii ma-do
Natsuki Tamura – trumpet
Satoko Fujii – piano
Norikatsu Koreyasu – bass
Akira Horikoshi –
drums
“For a small group, ma-do sounds utterly huge, and that’s a testament
not only to Fujii’s writing and technical skill, but also to her
cohorts – swirling and unruly at one moment, deft and wiry the next,
punchy and rollicking another, their empathy is astounding.” ⎯ Clifford
Allen, Bagatellen
This band’s name, like it’s music, has many layers. Ma-do means
“window” in Japanese. But “ma” also means “the silence between notes.”
Fujii chose the name to show how the music opens to the outside (just
like window) and that silence can have more meaning than notes. In an
acoustic setting, the group’s absorbing improvisations explore subtle
textures and tone colors, using silence and group interaction to build
brilliant collages of sound, melody, and rhythm.
They have released two CDs, Heat Wave (2008) and Desert Ship (2010).