It has been a while since I have toyed with the opposition between the concept of jazz as chamber music by other means and that of chamber music as jazz by other means. Indeed, my last encounter took place almost half a decade ago, when I was writing about an album of recent compositions by saxophonist Quinsin Nachoff entitled Pivotal Arc, which almost seems to have been coined with that opposition in mind. However, I cannot resist speculating that, when pianist Satoko Fujii formed a trio that she called This is It!, she had that question of opposition in mind.
On the basis of the many Fujii albums that have inspired my writing, I feel it fair to say that the trio provides a “comfort zone” (of sorts) for her piano performances. My most recent article about her involved her Tokyo Trio with Ittetsu Takemura on drums and bassist Takashi Sugawa. By the same count, her husband, Natsuki Tamura, released his own trio album this past February with Fujii as his pianist and Ramón López on drums. However, I have not encountered a This Is It! album since December of 2021, when Takashi Itani provided percussion for both by Fujii and Tamura.
Cover of the album being discussed (from the Bandcamp Web page)
The title of that album was Mosaic, and today it will be succeeded by the latest This Is It! release, Message. Those following the hyperlink will see that the best source for distribution is Bandcamp, where the six tracks on the album are available for both streaming and download. As of this writing, the price is given only in Japanese yen; but those clicking on the “Buy Digital Album” hyperlink will see a dollar equivalent for that price, which is a bit less that seven dollars.
It is probably worth noting that, in this digital age, the Bandcamp distribution is practically “hot off the presses.” All six tracks were recorded in a single day in Tokyo this past October 8. However, Libra only concluded mastering the content on February 23. Where recording and distribution are concerned, that is about as close to an instantaneous release as one can expect!
One of the things I like about Fujii is that her worldview is not limited to her own country. I was reminded of this while listening to the third track on the album, “Falafel Feast.” Ironically, this Middle Eastern influence was the result of visiting a restaurant in Berlin! Then there is “Ernesto,” named after Che Guevara, a prominent thorn in the side for the United States for his major role in the Cuban Revolution to overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.
Fujii embarks on one of her most elaborate riffs during “Ernesto.” This seems to have been the result of her having read of biography of Guevara. My guess is that her opinion of him was somewhat idealized; but, at least to some extent, her solo piano work captures a turbulence that may have been her effort to evoke the chaos and uncertainty of revolution. To be fair, however, my own thoughts tend to conclude that music and revolution do not mix very well. My own source of inspiration in these matters comes from Tom Lehrer:
Remember the war against Franco?That’s the kind where each of us belongs.Though he may have won all the battles,We had all the good songs!
Fortunately, Fujii does not limit her versatility to evoking revolutions from the past century. There are any number of solo riffs on this album that keep me on the edge of my seat just for the delivery by each of the three trio musicians. By the same count, however, there are just as many moments evoked by the full trio with the same effect! The “message” of Message, so to speak, may not have been intended as a political one; but I think that my own listening experience found just the right balance between the evocations of improvisation and the realities of day-to-day uncertainties!
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