Label: Out of Your Head Records, 2025
Personnel- Tomas Fujiwara: drums, composition; Patricia Brennan: vibraphopne; Tim Keiper: ngoni, calabash, temple blocks, timbale, djembe, castanets, balafon, found objects; Kaoru Watanabe: o-jimedaiko, uchiwadaiko, shimedaiko, shinobue.
Drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara leads a powerful experimental quartet of kindred spirits, capable of propulsive rhythms and stunning textures. His Percussion Quartet features other three virtuosos: the widely praised vibraphonist Patricia Brennan and percussionists Tim Keiper and Kaoru Watanabe. Keiper also plays the African string instrument ngoni, while Watanabe brings the shinobue, a Japanese transversal bamboo flute. Fujiwara—who spent five years with the percussion collective Stomp—composed all the contagiously forward-reaching pieces, bridging drummer Max Roach’s percussion ensemble M’Boom with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson’s exquisite Blue Note gems of the ’60s and ’70s. Still, the music here extends far beyond those influences.
The title track, “Dream Up”, opens with a 12-beat ngoni cycle that sets a mysterious tone. Assured vibraphone runs and shifting textures introduce harmonic movement and melodic reflection, while intricate percussion injects depth and fantasy. “Mobilize” follows with march-like determination, combining odd meter, a martial stance, and epic spirit. The added cymbals in its final section give extra punch to a piece so rhythmically tight it moves like a single organism, in a fluid, synchronized dance of motion and sound.
“Komorebi”, evokes the gentle reflection of sunlight through shinobue’s whooshing tones and Japanese drums. The group explores abstract terrain, tension mounting through Fujiwara’s tom-driven pulse while Brennan’s probing vibes bring moments of calm discovery. “Recollection of a Dance” kicks off with an exhilarating 4/4 rhythm before shifting in key and tempo into 7/4. Watanabe’s soaring flute elevates the celebratory mood in a piece that blends avant-garde intensity with nu-jazz fluidity, surging to a climactic finish.
“Columns of Leaning Paint” displays polyrhythm stamina, while “Tapestry” highlights deep communication among the four musicians, shifting in tone, tempo, and posture, with Brennan pushing and pulling throughout the firm tides of the percussionists. Her crystalline thematic statement at the end lingers well beyond the track. The album closes with “You Don’t Have to Try”, initially featuring vibraphone and calabash perfectly in sync before adding ngoni and cymbals for a more intense flavor. This piece reaches further spiritual meaning by displaying balladic, lullaby-ish effects in its melodic tract and instrumentation.
Fully in command of his vision, Fujiwara thrives on rhythmic intelligence, dazzling virtuosity, and fearless imagination. With this ensemble, he shows one foot planted in folk tradition and the other firmly in 21st-century innovation.
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Mobilize ► 05 - Recollection of a Dance ► 08 - Tapestry