Arina Fujiwara: “Neon” (2023) CD Review

Arina Fujiwara is a pianist and composer from Saitama, Japan. She studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and then at Manhattan School of Music in New York. In October she put out her first album. Titled Neon, it features mostly original compositions, along with a couple of covers. Joining her on this release are Jaycee Cardoso on violin, Sammy Andonian on violin, Jeremy Klein on viola, Clara Cho on cello, Vid Jamnik on vibraphone, Brad Kang on guitar, Dan Finn on bass, and Mikkel Blaesild Vuust on drums.

The album opens with “Yuki Ga Furu,” an original composition. This track begins with the string section. There is a somewhat lonesome, contemplative air as the piece starts. Then it turns a corner, gaining energy, and feeling dramatic. The briefest of pauses leads to back to a mellower vibe, even as the drums come in. The track creates a changing landscape. The piano work has warmth, particularly in the way that instrument works together with the bass. The bass then gets a chance to lead, and that is another strong section. There is a beauty to this track, which is interestingly most striking when the music gains in intensity. The track ends in that more lonesome realm. That’s followed by “Hotaru Koi,” one of two covers on the album. This is a Japanese children’s song, here performed with an arrangement by Arina Fujiwara. It features an intriguing beginning, with that work on strings seeming to be more suitable for a thriller than a children’s song. And I love the beautiful melancholy sound of the cello. The piece then builds from there, moving about with a fleeting freedom and becoming pretty, even magical. The tone then changes nearly halfway through, with the addition of some progressive rock elements, something that is unexpected. This piece just gets more and more interesting. Toward the end, the rhythm takes over. One thing that is striking about this track is that there is uncertainty in its beauty.

Arina Fujiwara goes back to the original material with “Neon,” the album’s title track. This one begins gently, almost tentatively, on piano. The strings then help create an unusual mood, and when the vibraphone comes in, it is almost at odds with that mood. When the vibraphone and strings begin working together, an interesting magic occurs, a combination of moods, of desires, a fuller experience of the world. Arina Fuiwara’s lead on piano relaxes us, soothes us, and we feel lighter, particularly as the strings re-enter. That’s followed by “Komorebi.” There is an innocence as this one begins, and very soon it feels almost like the memory of innocence, as our perspective shifts and we find ourselves in a meditative place, a safe place, a beautiful place. We are alone with our thoughts, as the light plays upon everything around us, and on our skin. Knowing the past can’t hurt us, we feel at ease in the surroundings the music has created.

The last of the original compositions is titled “Vol. 1,” and it gets off to a lively start, like it is already in progress, already in motion. For a moment at the beginning the drum work is almost like a march on the snare. There is a bit of flurry to the tone and vibe of this track as it continues to drive forward. This track features some wonderful work on piano, plus really nice stuff on guitar in the second half. Then Arina Fujiwara changes directions again, surprisingly concluding the disc with a cover of Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” to which she puts her own delightful spin. This is an excellent solo piano track. Her playing is impressive, and will likely put a smile on the face of anyone who listens.

CD Track List

1. Yuki Ga Furu
2. Hotaru Koi
3. Neon
4. Komorebi
5. Vol. 1
6. Maple Leaf Rag

Neon was released on October 2, 2023.