INTAKT RECORDS – REVIEWS

YUKO FUJIYAMA – GRAHAM HAYNES – IKUE MORI
QUIET PASSION

Intakt CD 387 / 2022

ELIAS STEMESEDER PIANO SOLO Intakt CD 377

 

 

 

Fuji-Wer? YUKO FUJIYAMA dürfte auf Intakt ähnlich überraschen wie Louise Glück und Abdulrazak Gurnah als Literaturnobelpreisträger. Die Pianistin aus Sapporo, seit 1987 dauerhaft in New York, hatte 6 Jahre zuvor bei ihrem ersten Besuch in Cecil Taylor ihr von Jerome Cooper vermitteltes Heureka erlebt und lange gebraucht, zu etwas Eigenem zu finden, nicht zuletzt im Rückgriff auf das Konzept Ma, der Pause, in der die Zeit als Zwischen-Raum erscheint.

Rigobert Dittmann, Bad Alchemy Newsletter, March 2022 (DE)

 

La “formula a tre” non necessariamente vincolata allo schema sezione ritmica – strumento solista, prosegue in casa Intakt nel configurare una serialità differenziata quanto di solido interesse, ed è questa la volta di un’inedita formazione, che di fatto si palesa in formula-trio solo in certe parti del programma, comprendente anche espressioni in duo ed altre solistiche, svolte dalla ideatrice Yuko Fujiyama, matura esponente del piano free-style, piuttosto improntata da una fondativa fascinazione nei rispetti del mondo di Cecil Taylor, apprezzato e frequentato durante una giovanile puntata sul suolo di New York, di cui fece prolungata residenza tra gli anni ’80 ed i ’90, associandosi all’entourage dei musicisti e collaboratori del grande pianista.

Aldo Del Noce, Sound Contest, Mar 30 2022 (IT)

 

Pianist Yuko Fujiyama does not routinely release music. When she does, it is always for a special purpose. This trio recording, Quiet Passion, was preceded by Night Wave (Innova Recordings, 2018) and, like her previous album, she is joined by cornetist Graham Haynes. The trio is completed by fellow Japanese- born expatriate Ikue Mori a longtime mainstay of New York's Downtown scene. Fujiyama, a Cecil Taylor devotee, has maintained the essence of Taylor's art but, through the years, she has stripped the great man's music down. Her music is not unlike a Japanese haiku which can capture, in seventeen syllables, the ethos of a much lengthier and thickset poem.

Mark Corroto, All About Jazz, April 11 2022 (EN)

 

In 1980 bezocht Yuko Fujiyama (Sapporo, 1954) voor de tweede keer de V.S., de klassiek opgeleide pianiste zocht naar een woning om tijdelijk in New York City te verblijven. Zo kwam zij in contact met de muziek van pianist Cecil Taylor in de East Village en dat veranderde alles in haar leven. Het verblijf werd 6 maanden, ze werd een van Cecil’s beste discipelen. Cecil en zijn muziek veranderde haar leven in 1980 “I was so attracted to that piano sound and was under his influence for a very long time” aldus Yuko. In 1987 keerde zij terug naar New York waar ze nog steeds verblijft, tot halverwege de jaren ’90 bleef ze onder de invloed van Taylor tot muzikanten uit zijn omgeving haar vertelden dat Cecil altijd zei “Never copy” die twee woorden maakten een onuitwisbare indruk op haar op zoek naar haar eigen muzikale weg . Ze legde zichzelf een sabbatical op na haar album “Re-entry” uit 2000, in 2017 was er haar comeback met “Night Wave” en dit is haar tweede comeback. Ze nodigde Graham Haynes uit die ook op haar vorige album meedeed, hier speelt hij kornet en Ikue Mori op elektronica, het album bestaat uit solo, duo en trio improvisaties.

Jan van Leersum, Roots Time, Apr 01 2022 (DE)

 

Yuko Fujiyama è la pianista «avant», informale no, piuttosto logica di una logica free, che fa un po’ la leader e scrive 11 tracce su 13. Ha 68 anni ma solo dal 1980 ha iniziato la sua vera vita di musicista ed è stata l’illuminazione dell’ascolto di Cecil Taylor a offrirle le chances che desiderava. È oggi una delle nuove eroine del pianismo jazz-oltre-il-jazz. Con cultura classica-contemporanea e attenzione a evitare pomposità. Dà forse il meglio in questo cd nel brano intitolato Agitato. Ma agitato non è il suo eloquio come non lo è quello dei suoi due partner. Graham Haynes è il cornettista adorabile che ben conosciamo, tutto desiderio di liricità e orgoglio di conoscenza delle avanguardie. Ikue e Mori la conosciamo da ancora più tempo come la regina dell’elettronica nel campo non territorializzato della scena Downtown di New York, della musica di ricerca in generale, non corrucciata, scorrevole, amabile. Insieme i tre spiegano che cosa intendono col concetto di Quiet Passion (Intakt), la passione silenziosa o pensosa o assorta. Yuko in due brani è anche vocalista con un «recitato» non particolarmente originale.

Mario Gamba, il Manifesto, Apr 27 2022 (IT)

 

Recommended New Releases, The New York City Jazz Record, May 2022

Recommended New Releases, The New York City Jazz Record, May 2022 (EN)

 

Ein sicheres Gespür für Trans- parenz, klangliche Essenz und die Bedeutung des Raumes zeichnet diese Aufnahme aus. Und der Pianistin Yuko Fujiyama (verantwortlich für alle 13 Tracks dieser CD) gelingt es auch vor- züglich, eine abstrahierende, avantgardistische Tonsprache mit einer aussparenden Klang- Poesie zu vereinen.

Udo Andris, Jazz Podium Magazine, June 2022 (DE)

 

Het bleef jaren stil rond de Japanse pianiste Yuko Fujiyama (William Parker, Wadada Leo Smith) maar ze behield de passie. Getuige hiervan is deze opname die ze maakte in de New Yorkse Samurai Hotel Recording Studio op 19 december 2019 in gezelschap van Graham Haynes (cornet, electronics) en Ikue Mori (electronics).

Georges Tonla Briquet, Jazz'halo, June 2022 (DE)

 

Sporadically recorded, Sapporo-born, New York based pianist Yuko Fujiyama continues to probe unexpected territories. Moving from acoustic sessions with the likes of Jennifer Choi and Susie Ibarra, she commits to an electronic environment on the three-part suite and other tracks here. Confirming the change is the addition of fellow New York/Japanese expatriate Ikue Mori’s electronics, and associate Graham Haynes, adding programming and effects to his cornet thrusts.

Ken Waxman, Jazzword, June 15, 2022 (EN)

 

La pianiste japonaise Yuko Fujiyama m’apparaît comme une pianiste, et une musicienne, d’une envergure assez considérable. La rencontre, à New York en 1980, de la musique de Cecil Taylor fut un bouleversement dans sa pratique. Mais elle n’adopta pas le jeu foisonnant et expressionniste de cet immense créateur, son jeu apparaissant au contraire concis, précis, réfléchi et posé, et le piano sonne merveilleusement bien. Pour ce disque qui comprend treize pièces, la pianiste s’est entourée du grand trompettiste Graham Haynes ici uniquement au cornet, et qui ajoute quelques manipulations électroniques aux côtés de la spécialiste Ikue Mori, entendue récemment avec Fred Frith (Intakt CD 352). Il comprend treize pièces et alterne trios, duos et deux solos. Magnifique ! « Quiet Passion » (Intakt CD387).

Jean Buzelin, Culture Jazz, Oct 11 2022 (FR)

 

These three are New Yorkers with roots in jazz and experimental music. Graham Haynes, the son of drummer Roy, has placed his cornet and electronics in a dizzying range of music, including early straightahead dates.

Jim Motavalli, The New York City Jazz Record, Nov 2022 (EN)

 

Adventurous jazz pianists are all too often compared to the great Cecil Taylor. Years after his death, the master remains a mile-marker, his name almost an adiective for the indescribable.

Kurt Gottschalk, The New York City Jazz Record, Nov 2022 (EN)

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