by Scott Yanow
One of Japan's top avant-garde jazz pianists, Satoko Fujii can always be relied upon to contribute the passion and freedom of a Cecil Taylor in his playing while writing songs with avant-garde grooves, wide interval jumps, and an unusual use of repetition. On Angelona, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura shares solo honors, sometimes sounding a bit tone-wise like Don Ellis while playing in his own individual style. With bassist Takeharu Hayakawa and drummer Tatsuya Yoshikda contributing lots of interplay (Hayakawa takes a few miraculous solos), the often-dense music is always quite stimulating and colorful.