Jazzdor to Release Debut Album of Trio San

Trio San members Taiko Saito, Satoko Fujii, and Yuko Oshima (photograph by Christina Marx)

Tomorrow Jazzdor, which is based in Strasbourg, France, will release its twentieth album. Since Jazzdor has been around for over 30 years, this may sound like a modest achievement; but it deploys a focused dedication to introducing the general public to creative approaches to jazz and improvised music. The new release marks the debut of Trio San based on a performance at the Jazzdor Festival, which took place at Kesselhaus in Berlin on June 8, 2022.

It would probably be fair to say that Trio San is a trio that emerged from a duo. That duo was called Futari, and it consisted of pianist Satoko Fujii and vibraphonist Taiko Saito. Their latest album, Underground, was released at the end of this past April. The duo became a trio with the addition of percussionist Yuko Oshima, and the title of their debut album is Hibiki. For those that cannot wait until tomorrow, Bandcamp has already created the Web page for this album, which can be pre-ordered as either a compact disc or a digital album.

It is important to note that all three of the performers shared as composers of the six tracks on the album. The opening track has the title of the album; and it is the only composition by Oshima, providing a clear and compelling account of the transition of a duo into a trio. This is followed by three tracks composed by Fujii, which involve some highly imaginative passages of interplay between piano and vibraphone. Saito then takes the lead for the last two tracks, which serve up a sharp contrast between an almost silent stillness and a raucous outburst.

Over the years I have listened to so many of Fujii’s performances (not to mention those by her colleagues) that I “know the drill.” This is a matter of repeated listening to find just the right balances between sonorities and thematic content. There is always a logic behind any of the tracks. Apprehending that logic only comes after one can relate listening-in-the-present to past recollections. Hopefully, some of my readers are listeners that are willing to follow that same drill!