April Shower

by François Couture Released on the Japanese label Ewe in April 2001 and picked up a year later by Buzz for the European market, April Shower features piano solos, overdubbed piano duets, and duets with violinist Mark Feldman. In Satoko Fujii's discography, it stands as one of her most intimate, tender, and, therefore, listener-friendly efforts, close to her debut Something About Water on which her mentor, Paul Bley, duetted with her. Feldman appears on half of the pieces, and they are the best moments of the album. His adaptability to any context has become legendary, yet his playing preserves a burning passion (talented studio musicians -- even improvisers -- can sound cold, detached, just doing their job). When the lines call for a sense of yearning, a lyrical phrasing, Feldman puts it just right ("Then I Met You" is a heartbreaker). When things get more frenetic, he can deliver the energy (outstanding in "Nice Talking to You"). Fujii's solo pieces, whether made of one or two piano tracks, feel like interludes at first. Repeated listens reveal the depth of her compositions and their complementarity with the duets. They tap into something jazzier, bringing back the influence of Bley, but also McCoy Tyner and Cecil Taylor. Her range of expression, her ability to turn a mood inside out (as in "Behind the Notes" when that left-hand motif savagely enters halfway through), make this album something to cherish. April Shower is less intellectual-sounding than her trio, sextet, or orchestra recordings. It brings you closer to the woman and her love of the music. Highly recommended, especially to newcomers with a jazz background. コンセプチュアル・アートの視覚を全方位に配し、日常の光景を断片詩の形態で放射する藤井郷子のピアノは、ある時は陽に眩しく目を伏せ、ある時は心に傷を負い一言の優しさを待つ女の眼差し。曲名を見つめ音の風速にこころを預ければ、彼女の響きはすなわち貴方の声となる。初春の息吹、生命の目覚め。サン・サーンス的色彩のエキゾティシズムがヴァイオリンと接触し、多面的に散光したピアノは静かなる目を分裂する。デフォルメされ浮遊したサティのムードがすりつぶされた平和に蒼い影をつけていく。 (鷲頭毅志人) --- 2001年04月号