Japanese
Satoko Fujii Orchestra Kobe
Koh Iwata, Yasuhisa Mizutani –
alto sax, Eiichiro
Arasaki, Tsutomu Takei
– tenor sax, Keizo
Nobori – baritone sax, James Barrett, Naosi Imaizumi, Kazunari Seto, Natsuki Tamura – trumpet,
Tomoyuki Mihara, Akio Sachi – tombone, Tatsuki Yoshino – tuba, Satoko
Fujii – piano, Hiroshi
Funato – bass, Yoshikazu Isaki – drums
“In a big band setting, Fujii’s sound can have the feeling of a back
alley brawl: contentious reeds squabbling with brash brass sections in
front of pugnacious rhythms, interspersed with her succinctly “out
there” piano interludes.... Fujii’s a consummate artist; she’s never
careful in her offerings; the musicians she chooses aren’t careful;
they―and she―lay it all out there, no holds barred.”―Dan McClenaghan,
All About Jazz
Formed in 2001 at the request of Tetsumasa Kondo, owner of Kobe’s
premiere jazz club, Big Apple, Satoko Fujii’s Orchestra Kobe draws on
the finest players in a city with one of Japan’s longest jazz
traditions. The big band plays with a special maturity and depth that
brings out all the fire and complexity of Fujii’s stunning orchestral
scores.
Their CD is Kobe Yee! (2006).