Wednesday 16 May 2018, 7.30pm
Pianist / composer Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura first performed with British drummer Roger Turner in Kobe, Japan in 2017. Having found an instant and inspirational affinity, they're reuninitying in London for this very special concert.
“Unpredictable, wildly creative, and uncompromising… Fujii is an absolutely essential listen for anyone interested in the future of jazz.” – Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
“Imagine Don Cherry woke up one morning, found he'd joined an avant goth-rock band and was booked to score an Italian horror movie. It might be an unlikely scenario, but it goes some way to describing this magnificent sprawl of a record.” – Peter Marsh, BBC writing about Natsuki Tamura.
Over decades Roger Turner has brought the renowned volcanic power and finely-honed precision of his drum work to ensembles that have forged substantial connections with musicians both sides of the Atlantic and more recently from Japan. In addition to pioneering an acoustic percussive language that can run in tandem with approaches to contemporary electronic instruments, he has worked extensively in the microscopic laboratory of the acoustic duo situation where he acquired a highly developed sense of detail and of dynamic control. One of that select group of world-class players who have collectively redefined the language of contemporary percussion, in Turner's hands minute inflections of tension can shape the group's musical direction and galvanise a new level of audience experience.
“Fujii could be the most important creative musician of our time.” – Michael Nastos, allmusic
Fujii, whose “sheer force and raw power” have been celebrated by critics and fans alike, is one of the most original voices in jazz today. In 2018 she is celebrating her kanreki – or 60th birthday – with a new recording every month. In concert and on more than 80 albums as a leader or co-leader, her music synthesizes jazz, contemporary classical, avant-rock and Japanese folk music into an innovative music instantly recognizable as hers alone.
Tamura is internationally recognized for his unique musical vocabulary blending extended techniques with jazz lyricism. This unpredictable virtuoso “has some of the stark, melancholy lyricism of Miles, the bristling rage of late ’60s Freddie Hubbard and a dollop of the extended techniques of Wadada Leo Smith and Lester Bowie,” – Mark Keresman, JazzReview.com. Tamura’s seemingly limitless creativity led François Couture in All Music Guide to declare that “… we can officially say there are two Natsuki Tamuras: The one playing angular jazz-rock or ferocious free improv… and the one writing simple melodies of stunning beauty… How the two of them live in the same body and breathe through the same trumpet might remain a mystery…”
