The Squid's Ear Magazine


Tamura / Fujii / Lopez: Yama Kawa Umi (Not Two)

"The Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and the Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez released an album titled Confluence as a duo in 2019. A year later, the married couple Satoko Fujii and Natsuki Tamura enlisted the drummer for a tour across Japan. ...
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Natsuki Tamura-trumpet

Satoko Fujii-piano

Ramon Lopez-drums


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Label: Not Two
Catalog ID: MW1041-2
Squidco Product Code: 35737

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: Poland
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at Studio Sextan, in Paris, France, on November 19th, 2023, by Arthur Gouret.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and the Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez released an album titled Confluence as a duo in 2019. A year later, the married couple Satoko Fujii and Natsuki Tamura enlisted the drummer for a tour across Japan. Following these performances, they recorded the album Mantle as a trio.

Four years later, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, pianist Satoko Fujii, and drummer Ramon Lopez reunite as a trio in the studio to dedicate themselves to their musical vision of Yama Kawa Umi (Mountain River Sea), the sea at the mountainside.

The extraordinary trio lets the music crash and roar like the wild sea against the cliffs, with water foaming and surging high. The melodies are as beautiful as the clear water.

All nine songs thrive on these compositional subtleties, which can explode in surprising ways at any moment. Ramon Lopez seems to reflect walking, running, and wandering along the cliffs in his artistic expression, while Natsuki Tamura embodies the whispering, howling, and blowing wind, and Satoko Fujii, in her musical language, represents the flowing, rushing, and roaring sea.

Often, all three elements are heard simultaneously, but at times only the wind or only the water is present. Occasionally, the wind even mimics the sounds of the water. The beauty of nature is revealed in all three representations, with their collective portrayal serving as a magnificent culmination, making Yama Kawa Umi a true synchronized spectacle: Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura, and Ramon Lopez at the peak of their united creativity."-Michael Haifl, saitenkult.de



Track Listing:



1. Headwaters 4:47

2. Signpost 6:00

3. Sparkling Water 6:29

4. One Day Later 6:49

5. Cold Water 3:51

6. Yama Kawa Umi 6:44

7. Dusk Sky 7:16

8. Bolognaise 7:01

9. Malakoff 2:57

Related Categories of Interest:

In Stock, Not Yet Cataloged

Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Asian Improvisation & Jazz
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura's Libra Label

Search for other titles on the label:
Not Two.


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The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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