Futari Duo Debuts on Libra Records

Satoko Fujii and Taiko Saito in performance (courtesy of Braithwaite & Katz)

At the end of last month, Libra Records released its latest album of performances by Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii. The title of the album is Beyond; and it marks the debut of Futari, the duo that Fujii has formed with vibraphonist Taiko Saito. As usual, Amazon.com seems to be oblivious to this release. The above hyperlink points to a Bandcamp Web page for the digital version of the album, available for both streaming and download. Sadly, this is a case in which text notes are not available on either the Web page for the album or the info hyperlinks for the nine individual tracks.

All of those tracks involve what might be called “exploratory improvisation.” To the extent that this is a genre, it is situated in that adventurous space that can be classified as either “chamber music” or “jazz” (or, more realistically, both at the same time). Each track is associated with either one or two composers, but this probably involves simply setting some ground rules from which improvisation will unfold. The plural applies to the first and last tracks, “Molecular” and “Spectrum.” Saito is listed as the sole composer of “Todokanai Tegami,” which Google Translate interprets as “not reachable.” The remaining tracks are Fujii compositions: “Proliferation,” “Beyond,” “On The Road,” “Mizube” (waterside), “Ame No Ato” (after the sweetness), and “Mobius Loop.”

Commenting on the performances, Fujii said that “these instruments are so much alike and it’s not easy for them to play together.” Presumably, the similarity derives from the fact that both instruments share the same “keyboard layout” and that both of them have a damper pedal that extends the reverberation of one or more tones. In that context it is worth observing how each of the performers engages techniques that are not available to the other. In Saito’s case this involves primarily the use of a bow, rather than a mallet, to set a vibraphone bar resonating. Fujii, on the other hand, is no stranger to working directly with the interior of her piano, eliciting a wide diversity of sonorities from her physical engagement with the strings.

All of the tracks probably grew out of a tour made by the duo in 2019. Fujii commented on the results as follows:

I really like these performances with their still-fresh tension and the pauses where we try to hear each other breathe.

Indeed, that reflection on pauses brings to mind John Cage’s music for piano and the path he followed as a composer that eventually led to the silence of 4’33”. However, this is not to suggest that either Fujii or Saito had Cage in mind during their performances. Each of the tracks on this album simply reflects the relationship that emerged between the two players, and the richness of that relationship makes for very engaging listening experiences.