Satoko Fujii has released Satoko Fujii's Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra, the first of at least five orchestral albums she announced earlier in the summer for this year, and the 24th orchestral album of her career; her Bandcamp page hosts more than a hundred albums.
The record was recorded live in 2014 at the Bunker Ulmenwall in Bielefeld, Germany, a jazz venue in a converted Second World War air-raid shelter. The tape had sat undiscovered in the archive of concert producer Wolfgang Gross, who shared it with Fujii after coming across it recently; the two agreed "something special" had happened at that concert.
The double CD captures a large ensemble of professional musicians and local students playing Fujii's compositions and pieces by others in the group, including her partner Natsuki Tamura. UK Jazz News says the opening suite "Shiki" fills the entire first disc, with Fujii cueing in soloists while leaving room for the players to improvise.
On the second disc, Fujii hands the podium to the orchestra's other composers, including bass saxophonist Andreas Kaling conducting his own "Yamantaka" and Tamura's "Jasper," before Fujii returns to close the concert with "Gen Himmel."
UK Jazz News says the next four albums in the planned run are "well worth waiting for," given Fujii's classical training and early career playing in big bands. The release keeps Fujii among the most prolific composers working in jazz.
The facts
- The album is credited to the Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra
- It is the first of at least five orchestral albums due from her this year
- The run of albums was announced earlier in the summer
- Her Bandcamp page lists more than a hundred albums
- It's the 24th orchestral album of her career
- It was recorded live in 2014 at a converted air-raid shelter in Bielefeld, Germany
- The tape sat undiscovered until producer Wolfgang Gross found it recently
- Her partner Natsuki Tamura contributes a composition on the second disc
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