Satoko Fujii Orchestra in Nagoya

I am beginning to think that anyone interested in seriously following the work of jazz pianist Satoko Fujii should prepare to be a world traveler. My last encounter with one of her albums was at the end of last month with the release of Second Attempt. That title may have reflected that this was the second album of performances by the Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin. This month requires me to shift attention to the Satoko Fujii Orchestra Nagoya. Unless I am mistaken, my last encounter with Fujii in Nagoya was a little less than three months ago, which was when I wrote about her 2018 four-movement suite Imagine Meeting You HereI, which was performed collectively by the Satoko Fujii Orchestras in Kobe, Nagoya, and Tokyo.

Cover of the album being discussed (from the CDJapan Web page for the album)

The title of the new album is Korekara; and, as the CDJapan Web site describes the album, it is “the fourth installment in Satoko Fujii’s large-ensemble series.” The suite was composed on a commission by Rojiura no Matahari, a restaurant in Nagoya celebrating its twentieth anniversary. It would not surprise me to learn that the customers at this restaurant are made of sterner stuff than I am. My personal opinion (for what it is worth) is that Korekara demands attentive listener. That involves being able to “parse” the jacket information, giving the durations of the four movements, as well as the diversity of sonorities coming from both soloists and the full ensemble. Put another way, any seriously attentive listener would probably find the presence of food (not to mention waiters) a distraction!

According to that Web site, the album will be released exactly one week from today. However, CDJapan is currently processing orders; and the Web page is kind enough to provide a price in United States dollars as well as one in Japanese yen. There is also a calculator for finding out the shipping charge, as well as one hyperlink to “Check Shipping Method Availability” and another for “Payment Methods & Timing.” My guess is that delivery will also require patience; but, as far as I am concerned, it will be worth the wait!