Hakidame ni Tsuru: Satoko Fujii and Larry Ochs

Larry Ochs’ TBD opens with very special guests Tania Chen (piano, prepared piano) and Darren Johnston (trumpet and prepared trumpet). A first time meeting of three Bay Area stalwarts.
The program finishes with Satoko Fujii, the great Japanese pianist’s return to the Bay Area with “Hakidame ni Tsuru” (…translates into English as “crane in the wasteland”…) Through improvised music and movement, the group traverses cultures and continents, stretching its wings beyond boundaries and across borders.
When lauded pianist/composer Satoko Fujii first met Mizuki in 2008, Fujii’s curiosity and creative instincts inspired her to bring together this very special band of experimental improvisers, including Kappa Maki, guitarist Yasuhiro Usui, and percussionist Takaaki Masuko. First assembled to tour Japan in March 2012, these internationally renowned performers, based in Germany, Japan and the U.S. continue to perform in clubs, theaters, galleries, and improvised performance venues around the world. Most recently, Hakidame ni Tsuru continued to bring their ‘body music’ to life during their third Japanese tour in April 2016.
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Heralded as one of modern jazz’s “leading composers and musical thinkers” (Middleton, London Jazz), pianist/composer Satoko Fujii left Tokyo to study in Boston, graduating from both Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. Renowned for fusing “formidable chops” and “relentless” musical energy (Chamberlin, DownBeat), Fujii performs incessantly as a soloist, with the big bands she leads in Tokyo, New York, Berlin, Kobe, and Nagoya, and in a variety of combos, including Kaze, Gato Libre, and Junk Box, among others. She has also recorded over seventy albums, and celebrates the 20th anniversary of her independent label, Libra, in 2016. www.satokofujii.com
Based in Nagoya, guitarist Yasuhiro Usui’s unique improvisational style mixes jazz, noise, and minimal effects. In addition to running an independent label, Bakamo Records, Usui performs and tours throughout the world with a variety of artists, including Elliott Sharp, Ned Rothenberg, William Parker, Fill Minton, Peter Brotzmann, the Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra, and the Satoko Fujii Orchestra.  www.usui-yasuhiro.com
Mizuki’s unique percussive dance vocabulary comes of her flamenco training and eclectic musical appetites. In addition to performing with her flamenco-crossover project, Double Kick, Mizuki regularly collaborates with jazz, rock, and experimental/free improv musicians from across Europe, Asia, and North America.