Label: RogueArt, 2026
Personnel - Satoko Fujii: piano; Myra Melford: piano.
Bristling with virtuosity and detail, Katarahi, marks the second duo release by pianists and composers Satoko Fujii and Myra Melford, two artists with a tremendous capacity for invention and improvised storytelling. The title, a Japanese word meaning a heart-to-heart conversation between intimate friends, could hardly better reflect their work here, as they enjoy an equal share of the music-making. Neither is busier nor more commanding than the other. Instead, they integrate their ideas seamlessly, creating textures, motions, and atmospheres that speak directly to their identities as musicians. The pieces on this album were recorded live at Jazzfestival Leibnitz in 2024.
Melford’s “Interlude I” balances volatility and pacification, relying on prepared piano and a four-note motif that continually reshapes itself to suit the evolving texture. Fujii’s “Signpost” reveals dappled undercurrents within its structural progression, gradually becoming tenser, more dissonant, and harmonically clustered. It follows a call-and-response approach, with the musicians constantly exchanging roles within an engaging dance that stings as much as it enchants.
Penned by Fujii, “Kaiwa” pushes in multiple directions through intricate four-hand piano work that cuts through the music’s surging tonality. It resembles an avant-folk celebration, with abundant activity in the lower register providing pulse and thrust. Notes and chords clash fiercely, creating a sensation of chaos, yet the pianists invariably bring their ideas to fruition, landing on casual conversations and infectious chromatically driven motions with equal clarity and abandon.
Also by Fujii, “From Sometime” initially embraces abstraction, yet remains highly responsive in nature. Ebbing and flowing through a variety of pathways while channeling a positive energy, it continually surprises and fully draws in the listener through coordinated gestures and percussive prepared-piano attacks. Melford’s compositions adhere to relatively simple structures that allow for both a centered approach and maximum freedom. “Chalk”, for example, begins with a contemplative, pastoral quality, only to have that serenity disrupted by a sequence of rapid whirling notes. Armed with impeccably placed half-steps and a grand, resonant sound, the pianists create a richly rewarding sonic experience, showing a particular affinity for the middle and upper registers. Their journey ultimately resolves into consonance.
Displaying their undisputed mastery of the piano, Fujii and Melford—who first met in 1994 through an introduction by pianist Paul Bley—bring a distinctive flair to everything they touch. Their acute listening skills play a decisive role in the music’s success, and the through-composed feel that emerges from their instinctive wandering through each passage is quite compelling.
Favorite Tracks:
04 - Chalk ► 05 - Kaiwa ► 07 - From Sometime