Janette Mason: REWIRED

Album release (CD & digital): Friday 25 April 2025

“A band leader of pugnacious flair and genuine unpredictability.” The Guardian

ReWired is the new acoustic trio album by acclaimed pianist, composer and arranger Janette Mason with long-time collaborators bassist Tom Mason and drummer Eric Ford. Known for her bold improvisations, rhythmic shifts and signature reharmonisations, Mason reimagines classic pop and jazz tunes that hold a personal significance. “I wanted to reflect on what I’ve done – including some standards but twisting them as much as I can, alongside tunes that I’ve played in a pop context with their creators,” explains Mason.

Pre Order here

Chosen from 1940s through to the present day, each track is carefully deconstructed and reassembled, resulting in a moving and innovative recording: ‘Cars’ (Gary Numan) – a nod to Mason’s early punk and electronic influences, with a bold harmonic reworking; ‘John, I’m Only Dancing’ (David Bowie) – a tribute to Mason’s collaborations with Tony Visconti, reimagined with Afro-Cuban swing rhythms; ‘Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered’ (Rodgers & Hart) – a jazz standard reinterpreted with classical influences, highlighting its timeless melodic and harmonic beauty; ‘Good 4 U’ by Olivia Rodrigo, a contemporary pop anthem transformed into a striking jazz arrangement with Paul Booth on saxophone; ‘The Man With The Child In His Eyes’ – a lyrically and harmonically rich arrangement that mirrors Kate Bush’s vocal phrasing and emotional depth; ‘Eleanor Rigby’ (The Beatles) – a bold reinvention with a groove and intricate bass- driven twists; ‘Lullaby of Birdland’ – a tribute to George Shearing’s harmonic brilliance, influenced by Mason’s childhood connection to his music and ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ – a deeply personal arrangement reflecting Mason’s time touring with Oasis. ReWired also features an original composition, ‘Prayer for the Planet,’ a heartfelt call for environmental awareness, enriched by the saxophone of Paul Booth and guest vocalists Roderick Lewis Frazier, Brendan Reilly and Natalie Williams.

Recorded in an intimate trio setting with minimal overdubs, ReWired captures the raw energy of live performance while offering a fresh perspective on beloved songs. “This album is a representation of the music I truly love,” says Mason. “I’ve had the honour of working with so many incredible artists, but ReWired is my way of honouring my own creativity.”

Live dates:

Thursday 1 May – Eastbourne, Bohemian

Album Release Concert – May 14 2025 – Pizza Express Soho – Book Tickets

Thursday 17 July – London, The Vortex

Thank you to ECN Music for sharing with us

Janette Mason website click here

Anneleen Boehme’s first solo album released April 18th.

Purchase here

THE PROJECT

That Anneleen Boehme is a virtuoso double bass player we could already observe in LABtrio. That she is an accomplished composer and bandleader we saw in Grand Picture Palace. Now we see her in her genuine vulnerability. Together with her regular companion, the double bass. Her music is anointing to the soul and her playing leaves no one unmoved.

In her solo, Anneleen Boehme explores the limits of the double bass and tries to transcend them in all their forms. She focuses on the acoustic sound of the instrument and, without too much extra, highlights that pure low voice. This with a focus on music that warms her heart: both her own com- positions written specifically for this double bass, as well as solo arrangements of existing music and improvisations. Her love for both jazz and classical music are expressed here. An embrace of the double bass, the low sounds and pure music....

Eunoia is double bassist Anneleen Boehme’s first solo album, which she also dedicated to herself.

“I wrote a story about who I am, about the road I’ve traveled so far. About how your head can drive you crazy and how, in the midst of it all, you can seek peace. I hope it will help you too. Sadness, joy, and comfort for your soul.”

Eunoia is an English word of Greek origin and consists of two parts: ‘eu’ meaning good and ‘noia’ referring to the spirit. Eunoia means beautiful thinking, benevolence toward all and a bridge between the heart and the mind.

The double bass translates our most melancholic feelings like no other. So it is no different on this record. But the warm tones are also anointing and hold a lot of comfort. On most songs we hear the double bass in his/her lonely simplicity, but on Fuga Ante Proelium we hear Anneleen’s voice joining her instrument.

Eunoia will be released on April 18th, 2025 on W.E.R.F. Records.

Thank you to Aubergine Artist Management for sharing with us

BIOGRAPHY

Anneleen Boehme is the double bassist and (co-)composer of the well-known Belgian LABtrio, with whom she performed at numerous festivals in Belgium and abroad, and appeared on various national and international radio and TV shows.

Since 2019, she formed her own band Grand Picture Palace which has been warmly welcomed in the Belgian jazz scene. Influenced by classical and contemporary music, bassists like Charlie Haden, Charles Mingus and composers like Gavin Bryars, she decided to start composing for double bass and orchestra. The result is a mix between jazz, classical and contemporary music. The bass plays the leading role, accompanied by a group of talented musicians. They released a first (self-titled) album Grand Picture Palace in 2021 on W.E.R.F. Records.

Anneleen also plays in several other bands such as Yskan and Saragon, and has collaborated with jazz musicians such as Chris Cheek, Michel Portal, Bert Joris, ....

She is also active in the field of performing arts as a creator and composer. She works on her own creations in co-production with others (e.g. Tumla), but also freelances for various theater compa- nies and has collaborated several times with Jan Sobrie, Joke Emmers, Fien Desmedt, Reinhild Decleir and Theater Antigone.

Innovative composer Ingrid Laubrock curates a library of moods from the poetry of Erica Hunt and four adventurous vocal-instrumental duos on her new double album. Purposing The Air, out April 11, 2025 via Pyroclastic Records, sets to music 60 brief yet evocative koans for the pairings of Fay Victor/Mariel Roberts, Sara Serpa/Matt Mitchell, Theo Bleckmann/Ben Monder, and Rachel Calloway/Ari Streisfeld (Duo Cortona)

“The genius of Laubrock's compositions lies in the way they balance compositional structure with improvisational freedom.” – Troy Dostert, All About Jazz

“As a bandleader, the wildly inventive soprano and tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock shepherds… category-defying projects with a bent toward unconventional instrumentation and disparate style-shifting." – Brad Cohan, JazzTimes

Hailed as a “fully committed saxophonist and visionary” by The New Yorker, Ingrid Laubrock has evolved a distinctive, fascinatingly complex and richly layered sonic vocabulary that spans her efforts as an improviser, as leader of her own diverse ensembles or, as in the case of her captivating new album Purposing The Air, as composer and conceptualist for other musicians.

Out April 11, 2025 from Pyroclastic Records, Purposing The Air marks yet another adventurous exploration in a career marked by bold innovations. The album continues Laubrock’s engagement with the voice, following the blend of orchestra and choir on Contemporary Chaos Practices (2018). Purposing the Air is an expansive collection of 60 miniatures setting the words of poet Erica Hunt and her emotionally incisive piece “Mood Librarian – a poem in koan.” Approaching the poem’s succinct two- or three-line fragments as separate compositions, Laubrock tailored each of them for one of four duos: vocalist Fay Victor with cellist Mariel Roberts, vocalist Sara Serpa with pianist Matt Mitchell, vocalist Theo Bleckmann with guitarist Ben Monder, and mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway with violinist Ari Streisfeld, aka the contemporary classical music ensemble Duo Cortona.

While she’s never before so fully integrated words and voice into her work, Laubrock has enjoyed a lifelong appreciation for poetry and literature. Her father was a Goethe scholar, while her mother instilled a love for language in her children from an early age. During the early years of her career in London, Laubrock was a member of the Brazilian-influenced band Nois 4, which featured the Brazilian singer Mônica Vasconcelos as well as vocal contributions by Laubrock herself.

The seed for Purposing The Air was planted while Laubrock was pursuing her master’s degree in composition. Setting out to write for Duo Cortona, she pondered which text to set for the intimate pairing. While she at first considered classic works, she quickly determined that she should employ the words of a living artist in keeping with her dedication to new works and vital collaborations. Not long before, Laubrock had met Hunt at a mutual friend’s home and struck up an immediate connection, making her an obvious candidate. While perusing Hunt’s most recent volume, Jump the Clock, the composer was intrigued by the possibilities of “Mood Librarian,” which compiles a spectrum of feelings from the everyday to the searching, the introspective to the speculative.

As the composer explains, “The texts of the poem are open and concise, often cryptic, but still poignant and relatable. Some I connected with immediately and viscerally, while others were more like evocative images or fun impressions. They really lend themselves to the song form in my mind.”

Deciding which duo would interpret which koan was key to the compositional process, Laubrock relates. Each of the pairings carried with it differing degrees of history –Fay Victor and Mariel Roberts had never performed together, while Matt Mitchell had worked with Sara Serpa in the context of the Portuguese-born singer’s multi- media Intimate Strangers project. Theo Bleckmann and Ben Monder are longtime collaborators who have released a number of duo albums over the last three decades, and Calloway and Streisfeld not only perform together as Duo Cortona, they are also husband and wife.

Writing for a project in which she wouldn’t also be a featured performer was a unique challenge, Laubrock says. “As a performer you can always direct the music from the inside. When you don't have that option, you have to be more concise in what you write and construct. Writing for these duos was all about trying to find ways of letting two musicians interact and figuring out the possibilities of their instruments while still allowing my personal creativity to shine through.”

The title *Purposing The Air *is paraphrased from the lyric of the penultimate piece (performed here by Duo Cortona): “birds purpose the air / as you purpose / pen and paper.” Contained within those few words is a suggestion of the art of composition, where marks on paper are translated into vibrations in air, rife with meaning and feeling; at the same time, as Laubrock explains, it hints at the wide-ranging interconnectedness of the project. “I envisage this whole piece of music almost as a space with the poems floating through it,” she describes. “There’s just enough space in between each song that it allows a moment to settle before the next one pops up.”

In conceiving the musical settings for each of Hunt’s koans, Laubrock took her cue from the poem’s title, “Mood Librarian.” Each piece conjures a vivid sensation, all of them as simultaneously complex, elusive and specific as the poet’s brief, evocative lines. Together this wealth of emotional knowledge and exploration could fill the shelves of a vast, impressionistic library. 

Ingrid Laubrock

Ingrid Laubrock is an experimental saxophonist and composer interested in exploring the borders between musical realms and creating multi-layered, dense and often evocative sound worlds. A prolific composer, Laubrock was named a “true visionary” by pianist and Kennedy Center artistic director Jason Moran, and a “fully committed saxophonist and visionary" by The New Yorker. She has worked with such luminaries as Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richard Abrams, Jason Moran, Myra Melford, William Parker, Tom Rainey, Mary Halvorson, Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, Craig Taborn, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Yarn + Wire, Wet Ink Ensemble and many others.

Pyroclastic Records

Pianist-composer Kris Davis founded Pyroclastic Records in 2016. By supporting artists in the dissemination of their work, Pyroclastic empowers emerging and established artists to continue challenging conventional genre- labeling within their fields. Pyroclastic also seeks to galvanize and grow a creative community, providing opportunities, supporting diversity and expanding the audience for noncommercial art. Its albums often feature artwork by prominent visual artists—Ellsworth Kelly, Julian Charriére, Dike Blair, Raymond Pettibon and Gabriel de la Mora among recent examples.

2025 Pyroclastic projects include albums from Ingrid Laubrock, Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson, Ned Rothenberg, and Kris Davis with the Lutosławski Quartet.

Ingrid Laubrock – Purposing The Air. Purchase here

Ingridlaubrock.com

pyroclasticrecords.com

ingrid-laubrock.bandcamp.com

Thank you to Ann Braithwaite for sharing with us.

London based singer songwriter Hohnen Ford releases new single from genre-spanning project marking 70 years since the release of seminal jazz album Chet Baker Sings. I Get Along Without You Very Well 

“Hohnen Ford conjures a timeless feel in her music, somehow capable of both expressing the universal while grappling with the personal… a potent new voice” CLASH

Chet Baker Re:imagined is released on April 11th 2025. Pre order here

CHET BAKER RE:IMAGINED LINE-UP:

Dodie • Matt Maltese • Hohnen Ford • mxmtoon • Matilda Mann • grentperez • Ife OgunjobiD

Benny Sings • Stacey Ryan • Delaney Bailey • Puma Blue • Sarah Kang • Joel Culpepper • Eloise • Poppy Daniels

Decca Records presents the latest single from the upcoming Chet Baker Re:Imagined collection. Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the legendary album Chet Baker Sings, the project celebrates Baker’s enduring legacy with a selection of reinterpretations of his timeless music through the voices of a new generation of artists.

Following the first wave of single releases from grentperez dodie and Matt Maltese the latest offering is North London based singer-songwriter and pianist Hohnen Ford’s reimagining of “I Get Along Without You Very Well”. Ford’s tender interpretation channels Baker’s own understated style, offering a fresh yet reverent take on the classic track.

Listen to Hohnen Ford – I Get Along Without You Very Well HERE.

Hohnen Ford: 

“When I first discovered Chet Baker it was quite revolutionary to me. Partly because of how beautiful his tone is and how intimate his interpretations of those songs are. And also just how effortless and melodic his improvisation is. Both his singing and his trumpet playing had a huge impact on me. And because of how much of my life he has accompanied, I think his music will always have a real sense of home to me. 

As soon as I was asked to be a part of this project, I immediately knew what song I wanted to do. I Get Along Without You Very Well is a song that has accompanied heartbreaks in my life. And actually when I went through my first breakup as a teenager, I listened to an unaccompanied version of him singing this song obsessively. Someone had singled out his vocal take and you could hear it unaccompanied. I listened to it over and over again, and cried.”

Chet Baker Re:Imagined features a diverse group of artists from across the world, spanning genres including R&B, pop, soul and jazz. Contributors include UK talents such as dodie, Matt Maltese, Matilda Mann, Joel Culpepper, Ife Ogunjobi, Hohnen Ford, Eloise, Poppy Daniels and Puma Blue, and international stars including Benny Sings (Netherlands), Stacey Ryan (Canada), mxmtoon (USA), Sara Kang (South Korea), and grentperez (Australia/Philippines). These artists explore Baker’s iconic melodies with fresh interpretations, blending acoustic and electronic elements, heartfelt improvisation, and richly layered production.

Chet Baker, a pioneer of the 1950s cool jazz movement, captivated audiences with his virtuosic trumpet playing and delicate vocal style. His seminal album Chet Baker Sings introduced a new dimension to jazz with its introspective and romantic ballads. Building on the success of the Blue Note Re:Imagined series, Chet Baker Re:Imagined connects a new generation of musicians with Baker’s artistry. The album invites listeners to explore the intersections of tradition and innovation, demonstrating Baker’s timeless relevance and the creative possibilities his music continues to inspire.

Chet Baker Re:imagined is released on Decca Records on April 11th 2025.

Hohnen Ford website click here

Thank you to Joe Baxter from Baxter PR for sharing with us

 Chet Baker Re:imagined Tracklisting:

1. Silver Lining – Joel Culpepper 
2. That Old Feeling - Eloise 
3. I’m Old Fashioned - Sarah Kang
4. I Get Along Without You Very Well - Hohnen Ford
5. There Will Never Be Another You - Matilda Mann
6. Old Devil Moon - dodie
7. It’s Always You - Puma Blue
8. Speak Low - Ife Ogunjobi
9. I’ve Never Been In Love Before – Poppy Daniels
10. Time After Time - Benny Sings
11. Like Someone In Love - Stacy Ryan
12. My Funny Valentine - Matt Maltese
13. I Fall In Love Too Easily - mxmtoon
14. But Not For Me - grentperez
15. While My Lady Sleeps - Delaney Bailey

Japanese Piano Star Hiromi Announces New Studio Album 

OUT THERE features the return Of Hiromi’s Sonicwonder Band with Hadrien Feraud on bass, Gene Coye on drums, and Adam O’Farrill on trumpet*

Lead single Balloon Pop is out now HERE

OUT THERE is released on Concord/Telarc on April 4 2025

For over more than 20 years as a recording artist, the pianist and composer Hiromi has shifted seamlessly from one spellbinding project to the next. In the process, she’s earned a reputation as one of the most explosive live performers in jazz history and a global ambassador for the art form. Today Hiromi has announced her 13th studio album OUT THERE (out April 4 / Telarc). OUT THERE is her second album with Sonicwonder, a mighty new quartet featuring Hadrien Feraud on bass, Gene Coye on drums, and Adam O’Farrill on trumpet.

OUT THERE is the follow-up to 2023’s Sonicwonderland, the debut of one of the most expressive and versatile working bands of Hiromi’s career (just watch their NPR Tiny Desk, which rapper Action Bronson deemed “the best Tiny Desk ever”). This new group furthered Hiromi’s distinctive musical alchemy: the spirit of classic jazz-rock fusion melded with classically rooted virtuosity, entrancing funk, pop flourishes, and acoustic jazz. OUT THERE captures their deep chemistry and fearless sense of interplay amid nearly two years of touring and playing together. Hiromi invites you to buckle up, for a fun, thoughtful, and wild musical ride. 

Says Hiromi: “On Sonicwonderland, I had the concept and the songs first, and I was looking for the people who could play the music in the ideal way that I had in my mind. Being with this group for well over a year,” she continues, “playing a lot of shows together and understanding each other, I started to see more of their strength and what shines in them the most. So, I started to write music with them in mind.” 

Hiromi’s Sonicwonder brings together world-class musicians of diverse backgrounds. French-born Feraud is a fusion virtuoso who has been compared to bass great Jaco Pastorius. Coye hails from Chicago, where he grew up playing in church and combines technical mastery with a soulful knack for groove and pocket. Brooklyn-raised O’Farrill, part of a dynasty that includes his father and grandfather, Latin-jazz titans Arturo and Chico O’Farrill, ranks among his generation's most important and progressive trumpeters. Throughout the album, O’Farrill conjures up audacious new sonic textures through electronics — part of his toolbox that Hiromi encouraged him to develop fully.  

“[Bass legend and collaborator] Anthony Jackson always told me that a first-class musician can do anything,” Hiromi says. “You don’t really have to put them in one genre or one category.” Knowing that anything she composed would be met with outstanding performances, Hiromi let her fiercest ambitions run wild when crafting the music on OUT THERE. “It all comes from curiosity,” she explains. “I think curiosity is the key to everything. How can you express yourself more? How can you write more?”

The album begins with “XYZ,” a fresh take on the first song that Hiromi ever released, back in 2003.  It’s a delirious burner that evokes the avant-garde-leaning Blue Note titles from the ‘60s. “Yes! Ramen!!” is a tribute to Hiromi’s favourite food over synths, revved-up disco beats, and a menacing riff. The band shares Hiromi’s love for ramen, especially O’Farrill and Coye, and they try to hit as many spots as possible on tour. “For this song, it was more like putting a soundtrack to the film I had in my head,” she says. “When the landscape changes, then different music comes in — different restaurant, different style.”  

The core of OUT THERE is its four-part suite, which Hiromi would like fans to hear as a focused front-to-back listen.  It opens with the rapid-fire melody of “Takin’ Off” and traverses the sly ’70s fusion grooves of “Strollin’,” which calls to mind Herbie Hancock, George Duke and Grover Washington Jr. “Orion” follows, with bold and triumphant bookends that could score a great work of science fiction. The suite closes with “The Quest,” which unites the chopped-up rhythmic thrust of current jazz with the synth pleasures of vintage prog-rock. The album’s finale is “Balloon Pop,” which is as much of an earworm as anything currently on the Hot 100. And with O’Farrill on trumpet, its hummable theme summons up Miles Davis’ hook-filled ’80s recordings.

Tied to the album’s release, Hiromi’s Sonicwonder will perform concerts at famous venues in Chicago, Toronto, a special album release show at the Blue Note in NYC, and more. See below for the full itinerary. For the artwork, Hiromi has once again tapped the artist Lou Beach, famous for an array of album covers including Blink 182's Dude Ranch and albums by Flying Burrito Brothers, Madonna and Weird Al. 

Hiromi’s many career triumphs include an NPR Tiny Desk Concert that has racked up 2 million views; the opportunity to represent her native Japan with a performance at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo; 2024 winner for Best Music Score for the animated feature film Blue Giant (Award of the Japanese Academy); and a GRAMMY Award for a collaboration with fusion hero Stanley Clarke. Her artistry is — to borrow a descriptor the New Yorker favoured — “dazzling.” 

PRE-ORDER/PRE-SAVE ‘OUT THERE’

Thank you to Baxter PR for sharing with us

Pianist Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio Make Their First Studio Album

“Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio isn’t even close to being a conventional jazz trio. But it is a Satoko Fujii ensemble in every sense, with the grace, sophistication, surprise and ingenuity found in every other of her ensembles.” — S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! “Ms. Fujii's Tokyo Trio has all the requisites for a landmark avant Jazz Improv Trio.” — Grego Applegate Edwards, Gapplegate Music Review

After two previous live recordings, pianist-composer Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio made their third release, Dream a Dream in the studio. The beautifully detailed recording cements their place as one of the leading piano trios of our time. Fujii, bassist Takashi Sugawa, and drummer Ittetsu Takemura have an innate chemistry that allows them to navigate Fujii’s compositions as well as improvise with telepathic unity. It’s an unbeatable combination of individual and collective expression that keeps the music always lively and surprising. The album will be released March 28, 2025 via Libra Records.

Striking the balance between composition and improvisation is key to the magic of the trio’s music. “I know improvised music can be exciting and I might not need to write anything to get good music. But I like writing notes, too,” Fujii says. “I like to have these two things together without borders.

“Sometimes I write a lot, but other times I write just a few bars to set the mood,” she continues. “For instance, ‘Dream a Dream’ has a long theme that is very much written but then we improvise and I use some parts from the theme to cue a change in the feel. ‘Summer Day’ has very few written parts, but I use them as cues to start the next section. I love composing the structure as well. Solos, duos, and collective sections are very much planned but we always can change them as we listen and play.”

Since they debuted at Tokyo’s legendary jazz club, Pitt Inn, in 2019, the trio has devoted itself to perfecting their collective sound. The music on the new album was recorded in the middle of a 2024 European tour, but they had also worked on the material during an earlier tour of Japan. They honed their approach to Fujii’s compositions until improvisation and composition co-exist “without borders,” as Fujii puts it.

The music is further enriched by the personal approach each member brings to the table. “I always love playing with someone who has their own voice,” Fujii says. “Takashi and Ittetsu are great improvisers, that means they listen deeply and carefully. Meanwhile, they play and improvise in their own unique way.”

It’s a delight to hear how Fujii uses the trio’s many resources to create beauty and surprise in a new approach to a familiar jazz combo format. “Second Step” opens the album with a prime example of the trio’s improvised give and take and the impossible-to-predict course charted by Fujii’s compositions. Fujii’s unaccompanied haunting introduction erupts into waves of crashing notes before she introduces the written theme. But the momentum of the piece is sidetracked by a low, spacious bass solo in which Sugawa etches percussive single notes in silence. A trio improvisation follows, setting up a rapid-fire drum solo that sets up a quirky trio conclusion full of shifting tempos, changing densities, and some of Fujii’s most lyrical and elegant piano playing on the album. It’s quite a journey.

“Dream a Dream” is an exercise in contrasting moods and unexpected twists. Over the course of the piece, Fujii moves from surreal sounds created inside the piano, through a baroque composed melody, tension-filled irregular phrases, to a rhapsodic conclusion. As the piece evolves, she orchestrates the trio into solo and duet combinations that redirect the flow of the music but maintains an off-balance progress. Sagawa’s solo showcases his melodic sense, full tone, and dramatic use of dynamics while Takemura’s speed and precision impress during his solo venture. The trio’s collective interplay and dynamic balance of diverse voices highlights “Summer Day.” Staccato notes fall like intermittent rain to open “Rain Drop,” then develops in unconventional, almost nonlinear, ways as the music ebbs and flows through various combinations of instruments. The title of the final track, “Aruku,” means “walk” in Japanese and Fujii wrote it during the pandemic to commemorate the walks that she and husband Natsuki Tamura took together each day. It’s a very dynamic piece, with sudden stops, high-contrast changes in direction, and subtle shifts in ensemble balance.

Pianist and composer Satoko Fujii, “an improviser of rumbling intensity and generous restraint” (Giovanni Russonello, New York Times), is one of the most original voices in jazz today. For nearly 30 years, she has created a unique, personal music that spans many genres, blending jazz, contemporary classical, rock, and traditional Japanese music into an innovative synthesis instantly recognizable as hers alone. A composer for ensembles of all sizes and a performer who has appeared around the world, she was the recipient of a 2020 Instant Award in Improvised Music, in recognition of her “artistic intelligence, independence, and integrity.” Frequently cited in the DownBeat Critics’ Poll, in 2024, she ranked high in three categories—piano, big band, and arranger.

In 2022, she released Hyaku, One Hundred Dreams her 100th album as a leader. On the way to this impressive milestone, she has led some of the most consistently creative ensembles in modern improvised music, including a piano trio with Mark Dresser and Jim Black (1997-2009). In addition to a wide variety of small groups, Fujii also performs in a duo with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, with whom she’s recorded nine albums since 1997. She and Tamura are also one half of the international free- jazz quartet Kaze, which has released seven albums since their debut in 2011. Fujii has established herself as one of the world’s leading composers for large jazz ensembles. Fully a quarter of her albums have been with jazz orchestras, prompting Cadence magazine to call her “the Ellington of free jazz.”

Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio – Dream a Dream - purchase here

Satoko Fujii website here

Thank you to Ann Braithwaite for sharing with us.