Satoko Fujii is as prolific a composer as she is a consistently reliable one, making the predominant consumer concern regarding her work, “if not everything, what?” Completism is to be commended, of course, but barring that her orchestral work continues to be her most exciting. She's an arranger with inspiration, and leads four orchestras (three in Japan and one in New York) with more than a dozen recordings between them — which may mean that further winnowing is necessary. In such a case, the New York group is always solid and the new ETO can be seen as either an easy primer or a new sort of work from the tireless composer/pianist.
The bulk of the disc is taken up with a 14-part suite written for the 60th birthday of her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura. Long form works are nothing new for Fujii, but being divided into two-minute tunes eases the digestion and underscores the thematic approach at work. The short, bright tunes are each titled after signs of the Chinese zodiac, which might give some listeners an easier in.
These are superficial distinctions, although not entirely irrelevant. Fujii always works with strong musical themes, and the relevance to the animals associated with their zodiac signs is left largely to the imagination. It's still, however, fun to hear a suite of miniatures from her.
The suite is bookended by three longer compositions (although none of those is more than 10 minutes), the strongest of which is “Stroll,” the album's closer. Its seven minutes feel grandiose in context and it moves easily back and forth across a broad path, from orchestral atmospherics to tight structures reminiscent of Ellington's tastefulness (and this is not said lightly).
Fujii is a hard act with which to keep up, and seems to overshadow Tamura even on his birthday, which is a shame because his own evocative work is deserving of greater attention. But ETO proves a good place either to dip or dip back into the fast course of Fujii's stream.
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