Drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara and his latest ensemble, 7 Poets Trio, return to Roulette to celebrate their eponymous debut record on Rogue Art. Featuring Fujiwara on drums, Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, and Tomeka Reid on cello, the group will perform compositions from the album, composed specifically for this ensemble, utilizing the distinct musical personalities of his collaborators as well as the unique instrumentation of this trio.
The 6 pieces seek to strike a balance between composition and improvisation, to offer each musician a number of roles (foreground and background, soloistic and supportive, melodic and percussive), and most importantly to provide an environment for a true collaborative ensemble sound. Tomas Fujiwara’s 7 Poets Trio is a continuation of several of Fujiwara’s musical interests, including the flexible roles and multifaceted possibilities of a particular instrument, and the sounds of multi-percussion ensembles, from his days as a performer in Stomp, to his bands Triple Double and Double Double, as well as other double drummer ensembles he’s been a part of such as Living By Lanterns, No Moto, and the Taylor Ho Bynum 7-tette....
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Drummer and composer Tomas Fujiwara and his latest ensemble, 7 Poets Trio, return to Roulette to celebrate their eponymous debut record on Rogue Art. Featuring Fujiwara on drums, Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, and Tomeka Reid on cello, the group will perform compositions from the album, composed specifically for this ensemble, utilizing the distinct musical personalities of his collaborators as well as the unique instrumentation of this trio.
The 6 pieces seek to strike a balance between composition and improvisation, to offer each musician a number of roles (foreground and background, soloistic and supportive, melodic and percussive), and most importantly to provide an environment for a true collaborative ensemble sound. Tomas Fujiwara’s 7 Poets Trio is a continuation of several of Fujiwara’s musical interests, including the flexible roles and multifaceted possibilities of a particular instrument, and the sounds of multi-percussion ensembles, from his days as a performer in Stomp, to his bands Triple Double and Double Double, as well as other double drummer ensembles he’s been a part of such as Living By Lanterns, No Moto, and the Taylor Ho Bynum 7-tette.
Tomas Fujiwara—Drummer, Composer
Patricia Brennan—Vibraphone
Tomeka Reid—Cello
Tomas Fujiwara assembled his 7 Poets Trio (with Patricia Brennan and Tomeka Reid) for the first time during his Stone residency in April 2018 after having previously played with Patricia in Michael Formanek’s Ensemble Kolossus, and Tomeka in her Quartet. As has been the case with past ensembles of his (Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up, The Tomas Fujiwara Trio, and Triple Double), Fujiwara brought together two musicians who had never played together before, creating a brand new combination of musical personalities. The rapport was instantaneous and their debut was described by All About Jazz as “a meshing of chamber jazz, modern classical composition and improvisation, although most of Fujiwara’s music sounded well organized in advance. All three players rose to an individual expression, working as a composite unit to deliver solo embellishments. Roles were malleable, as the listener decided whether everyone was soloing, or no-one. All three members were devoted to establishing a sensitive group consciousness, and they succeeded eminently.”
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