“Night Seen from a Gap in the Night” sasakure & Fumi Endo

If there is a musical equivalent to the night sky, it will likely be played by Fumi Endo. That is made apparent on the CD “Night Seen from a Gap in the Night,” the 2025 release by Ftarri. A pair of live pieces featuring painter sasakure and pianist Fumi Endo.

An exhibition of paintings by artist sasakure. was held at Ftarri, Tokyo, from September 3rd to 30th, 2023. During that period, three concerts with live painting by sasakure. were held at Ftarri. The first concert, on September 9, was a duo performance by sasakure. and pianist Fumi Endo. (A painting by sasakure. graces the cover of Endo’s solo album “Cold Light in Warm Blue,” released on the Hitorri label in 2023.)

There is a gentle and thoughtful attention to note choices, or more accurately to when silence is allowed to enter the room; in both pieces, “Night Seen from a Gap in the Night” and “Lingering Light,” the fading of a chord will be punctuated by the brush strokes of sasakure. Between the cover art and insert, you can get a sense of the two paintings being created. Fumi is one of the more prolific musicians in the Tokyo area today whose work blurs the lines between modern composition, jazz, and experimental.

Tokyo-based pianist Fumi Endo has been performing since 2017, playing mainly jazz and improvised music. Her distinctive, minimalistic performances have garnered a great deal of attention. Endo has performed frequently at Ftarri since September 2020.

Fumi is performing on an acoustic piano but often travels into ambient territory with zero effects utilized; it’s all down to her being able to sustain chords and then play the empty spaces as they fade out, like a cloud drifting across the moon and momentarily darkening the world. FTARRI is a music venue/store in Bunkyo-ku as well as a record label that is home to many of the most exciting experimental artists in Japan. 

This duo CD includes two pieces from that September 9 concert. Endo’s quiet and haunting piano playing, and the scratchily rustling sound produced by sasakure. while painting, shape their performances. The titles of the paintings produced in the performances, “Night Seen from a Gap in the Night” and “Lingering Light,” became the titles of the two tracks. “Night Seen from a Gap in the Night” was also adopted as the CD’s title, and the painting of that name became the cover art. “Lingering Light” was printed on a card and enclosed in the jacket along with the disc. Thus, both the music and the artwork created in the concert can be enjoyed in this release.

Fostering a scene of delicate, thoughtful exploration, this label represents many vibrant artists in Japan. This release is a disc that documents a piano and a paintbrush masterfully crafting spacious art. Perfect for contemplative evenings, put on headphones and get lost in nocturnal solace. It can be ordered via the label’s bandcamp or in my case bought from Fumi herself at one of her many live performances in Japan.

To keep up to date on Fumi’s upcoming performances and releases, you can connect with her at the links below:

blog / x / insta / linktree

You can also connect with sasakure here:
site / insta