BFA Trio - Hurtling Between

Label: Fundacja Sluchaj Records, 2026

Personnel - Sam Bardfeld: violin; Joe Fonda: bass, flute (#4); Barry Altschul: drums.

Setting the searing violin lines of Sam Bardfeld against the special rhythm carpets woven by bassist Joe Fonda and drummer Barry Altschul, the BFA Trio follows the same explorative imagination of FAB Trio and The 3Dom Factor, which feature the seasoned rhythm team with violinist Billy Bang and saxophonist Jon Irabagon, respectively. Alternating between free playing and swing, this fluid, constantly interesting avant-jazz connects composers and improvisers from three generations across seven compositions that, honoring Altschul, include originals from the three members of the band and two covers.

Altschul’s “Martin’s Stew”, a tribute to the late American drummer Stu Martin, boasts a fantastic theme, kicking off with tangled bass pizzicato before entering a train-like-motion groove in support of angular violin flights marked by tasteful melodic patterns rich in risings and decays. Altschul’s accompaniment and solo are contagiously energetic, while Fonda opts for a well-rooted arco statement.

The bassist’s droning underpinning is key to the emphatic rendition of Carla Bley’s “Ida Lupino”, where Altschul, offering vivid percussive commentary with brushes, stands behind Bardfeld’s sensitive, folksy melody. Like the piece I just described, Julius Hemphill’s blues “C” is a nod to Altschul, delivered at a brisk pace with an irrepressible swinging verve.

Bardfeld’s personal homage to the drummer and his free/swinging style, “Hurtling Between”, also works as an analogy for the tense current times. Fonda does great work here, creating an exquisite pulse based on just an interval. He also contributes one composition of his own, “GS #2”, a tribute to drummer George Schuller, whose meditative quality gradually evolves into a fearless quintuple-metered groove.

Freely improvised by the trio, “Hippie Sh*t Could Set Us Free” features Fonda on flute, pairing up with Bardfeld over Altschul’s tidal drums. The album comes to a close with Altschul’s classic “B Out School”, another free tune filled with excellent stop-and-go motion.

Bardfeld’s sinewy runs and zippy figures create a vortex of power over the well-oiled rhythm machine of Fonda and Altschul. Enthusiasts of firmly textured avant-garde jazz will find immense gratification in Hurtling Between.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Martin’s Stew ► 02 - Ida Lupino ► 05 - Hurtling Between

Joe Fonda Quartet - Eyes On the Horizon

Label: Long Song Records, 2024

Personnel - Joe Fonda: bass; Wadada Leo Smith: trumpet; Satoko Fujii: piano; Tiziano Tononi: drums.

In a career spanning over four decades, free jazz bassist Joe Fonda has become a sought-after sideman and an inventive bandleader. His latest quartet album, Eyes On the Horizon, serves as a tribute to his former mentor, legendary trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, who joins Fonda on this project along with Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and Italian drummer Tiziano Tononi. Fonda crafts compositions with fluid structures, allowing the musicians to take up thematic material at different times, blurring the boundaries between composition and improvisation in curious ways. While Fujii and Tononi have been close collaborators, Smith hadn’t recorded with Fonda since the mid-1980s.

“Inspiration Opus #1” opens the album with darting bow work and exquisite trumpet licks. The piano comes and goes while the drummer insists on bright cymbal coloration. The music ebbs and flows, creating a dynamic soundscape that resists reaching a peak. “My Song Opus #2” features a piano introduction steeped in emotion and hidden mysteries. There are well-measured trumpet glances and lyrical swells that demonstrate Smith’s extensive depth of range, with Fonda designing a repeating ascending phrase that dissolves into free currents. Fujii’s textural sculptures and Toni’s adaptable drumming contribute to this slow, dirge-like procession.

“We Need Members Opus #4” is a standout track inspired by the time Fonda and Smith first met at a CMIF (Creative Musicians Improvisers Forum) recruitment session in New Haven, an organization co-founded and directed by Smith. The fleeting, rabble-rousing conjoint operations of bass and piano claim the spotlight at an early stage. Then, Fonda installs a gorgeous bass groove over which Fujii creates beautiful melodies with a few ingenious outside notes, while Tononi’s drums march forward with precision. Smith’s soulful extemporization triggers reactions from the pianist before Fonda enjoys an unaccompanied moment, delivering confident statements with rhythmic invention. The piece concludes on a solemnly profound note with active drumming at the base.

“Bright Light Opus #5”, inspired by Smith’s remark, ‘I love brightness’, during a session, unfolds with dark suspensions, synchronized motifs, and grand, bittersweet piano chords. The contemplative bass-trumpet duet “Like No Other” honors vibraphonist Bobby Naughton, a longtime collaborator of Fonda and Smith. The powerful “Listen to Dr. Cornel West”, a Fonda staple, brims with raw energy, with each musician offering their own commentary. 

Fonda and his peers create new frameworks and spaces for their creativity, making Eyes On the Horizon a profound homage to one of jazz’s most distinctive trumpeters. 

Favorite Tracks: 
02 - My Song Opus #2 ► 03 - We Need Members Opus #4 ► 05 - Listen to Dr. Cornel West 

Satoko Fujii / Joe Fonda - Thread of Light

Label: FSR Records, 2022

Personnel - Satoko Fujii: piano; Joe Fonda: bass, cello, flute.

Thread of Light, the fifth collaboration between the prolific Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and American bassist Joe Fonda was recorded separately in their respective homes of Kobe and New York during the pandemic. The conceptual idea for this record came from the bassist, after listening to Fujii’s piano solo pieces on bandcamp. He would complement the pianist’s vibes and feelings according to his own perception of the music, and the result was eight improvised duets and two solo numbers, one by each musician.

Sober and tempered in tone, “Kochi” is a solid opener where the duo is clearly on the same wavelength. Fonda added wafting bass plucks and intentional sliding motions to Fujii’s majestic piano playing, and the unification of their sounds - whether spacious or compact - is always treated with tasteful refinement. More electrifying, “Fallen Leaves Dance” has Fujii offering hasty runs and a low-pitched groove that welcomes Fonda’s unstoppable fretless rambles. This systematically kinetic interplay veers completely with the next track, “Reflection”, whose experimental world of mystery captures speculative tones through the use of prepared piano, extended techniques, and a fine combination of creeping pizzicato and noir arco bass legato. The latter piece is tonally related to the austere “Between Blue Sky and Cold Water”, where Fonda plays cello. In this part, an ominous stillness comes out on top.

Mostly designed with canny single notes, “Anticipating” is turned into a polyrhythmic dance for two, with merely sparse harmonic fragments. In turn, “Wind Sound” is an atmospheric exertion containing contemplative flute lines in opposition to the ringing and metallic sounds of the prepared piano. This avant-garde setting arises curiosity in the way the musicians move through sound and texture, but the solo pieces by each don’t fall behind. Fonda’s solo delivery, called “My Song”, shows he’s a melodicist capable of taming angular impulses with a tremendous beauty. For her part, Fujii tackles her radiant “Winter Sunshine” with an indelible folk connotation and remarkable rhythmic agility. By turns, the album’s moodiness transfixes and beguiles. 

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Kochi ► 02 - Fallen Leaves Dance ► 03 - Reflection