Satoko Fujii

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 more than 25 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. “Fujii’s music troubles the divide between abstraction and realism. . . . All of this amounts to abstract expressionism, in musical form. But it’s equaled by her rich sense of simplicity, sprung from the feeling that she is simply converting the riches of the world around her into music,” writes Giovanni Russonello in the New York Times.

A prolific 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.” Her talent as a big band composer, arranger, and leader have been recognized numerous times in DownBeat Critics Polls. The New York City Jazz Record has twice named her Artist of the Year. In 2021, El Intruso named her Pianist of the Year.

Since she burst onto the scene in 1996, Fujii has led and recorded with some of the most consistently creative ensembles in modern improvised music. She recorded her 100th CD as leader or co-leader live in concert in September 2022. To mark the milestone, she wrote a new suite, Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams, featuring trumpeters Wadada Leo Smith and Natsuki Tamura, tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck, electronics artist Ikue Mori, bassist Brandon Lopez, and drummers Tom Rainey and Chris Corsano.