Sachi Hayasaka, Kunihiro Izumi – alto sax
Kenichi Matsumoto, Daisuke Fujiwara – tenor sax
Ryuichi Yoshida – baritone sax
Yoshihito Fukumoto, Takao Watanabe, Yusaku Shirotani, Natsuki Tamura – trumpet
Haguregumo Nagamatsu, Yasuyuki Takahashi, Toshihiro Koike – trombone
Kelly Chrko – guitar
Satoko Fujii – piano
Toshiki Nagata – bass
Akira Horikoshi – drums
When Fujii moved back to Tokyo in 1997, she gathered together all the “outlaw” and wild musicians the city had to offer and formed Orchestra Tokyo. They play with high energy, great humor, a warm sound and deep harmonies showcasing Fujii’s great compositional prowess and the talents of her musicians.
“The orchestra is her instrument … and she uses it to make epic gestures.” ― John Chacona, Coda
“Extremely vigorous and forward-thinking music.” ― Jason Bivins, Cadence
“…inventiveness, grace and genius.” – S. Victor Aaron, Something Else
“In Cadence magazine Bob Rusch dubbed Fujii ‘the Ellington of free jazz.’ …one might equally well liken her to Charles Mingus, Graham Collier, Carla Bley or Sun Ra for adventurousness and intensity, but her music is distinctive, standing alongside those other explorers, not in their shadow.” – Barry Witherden, Jazz Journal
“Brilliant compositions accompanied by some of the best playing you are ever likely to hear… It’s difficult to find another composer like Fujii who can write improvised music for a large ensemble so well and I doubt that there ever will be… an absolute must-listen.” – Nick Davies, London Jazz News
“…exuberant, filled to the rim with exciting fast-paced action and complex arrangements….Fujii’s writing swings hard – rock hard.” – Francois Couture, All Music Guide
The Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo has released six CDs: Double Take (2000), Before The Dawn (2003), LIVE!! (2006), and Zakopane (2010), Peace (2016) and Kikoeru (2018).