Interpretations: Yuko Fujiyama / Reggie Nicholson

Thursday, March 7, 20248:00 pm

The 34th season of the Interpretations series kicks off with new work from Yuko Fujiyama and Reggie Nicholson.

Pianist/composer Yuko Fujiyama leads her trio Contemporary East with drummer Lesley Mok and dancer Miki Orihara. The trio will perform original compositions and improvisations with the aesthetics of Eastern expression.

Drummer/percussionist/composer Reggie Nicholson will lead his quintet, the Reggie Nicholson Brass Concept, with Eddie Allen (trumpet), Marshall Sealy (horn), Steve Swell (trombone), Joe Exley (tuba). The group will perform Nicholson’s original compositions from the quintet’s 2009 album Surreal Feel as well as new works.

A livestream will be available free of charge at 8pm on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing. Watch below or on YouTube.


Born in Sapporo, Japan, Yuko Fujiyama studied music in college and moved to the U.S. in 1987, after being touched by the music of Cecil Taylor. Since 1993, she has been an active performer of original music in concerts, clubs, and festivals in and around New York City and overseas. She has performed as a leader with musicians such as William Parker, Mark Dresser, Ikue Mori, Susie Ibarra, Billy Bang, Mark Feldman and Roy Campbell, among many others. She is featured on a number of CDs, including two releases with her ensemble on the CIMP label. In the words of the Village Voice, “she’s created her own pass.”
Continuing in the tradition of drummer bandleaders such as Max Roach, Art Blakey, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, and Paul Motian, Reggie Nicholson has firmly established his reputation in this great tradition. Since relocating to New York City from Chicago in 1988, Nicholson has performed and recorded with a wide variety of new music luminaries such as Henry Threadgill, Amina Claudine Myers, Muhal Richard Abrams, Charles Gayle, Myra Melford, Anthony Braxton, Wilber Morris, Yuko Fujiyama, Roy Campbell, Butch Morris, just to name a few. To date, Nicholson has recorded four albums titled, “Unnecessary Noise Allowed”, “Percussion Peace”, “Timbre Suite”, and “Surreal Feel.”
The Interpretations series, now in its 34th season, is a New York-based concert series focusing on the relationship between contemporary composers and their interpreters. Sometimes the interpreters are the composers themselves; more often, the series features performers who specialize in the interpretation of new music. Since its inception in 1989, Interpretations has featured leading figures in contemporary music and multimedia, including Muhal Richard Abrams, Robert Ashley, Anthony Braxton, Thomas Buckner, FLUX Quartet, Joseph Kubera, Annea Lockwood, and Alvin Lucier, Roscoe Mitchell, Phill Niblock, Pauline Oliveros, Ursula Oppens, and Morton Subotnick.

Interpretations: Yuko Fujiyama / Reggie Nicholson

Thursday, March 7, 20248:00 pm

The 34th season of the Interpretations series kicks off with new work from Yuko Fujiyama and Reggie Nicholson.

Pianist/composer Yuko Fujiyama leads her trio Contemporary East with drummer Lesley Mok and dancer Miki Orihara. The trio will perform original compositions and improvisations with the aesthetics of Eastern expression.

Drummer/percussionist/composer Reggie Nicholson will lead his quintet, the Reggie Nicholson Brass Concept, with Eddie Allen (trumpet), Marshall Sealy (horn), Steve Swell (trombone), Joe Exley (tuba). The group will perform Nicholson’s original compositions from the quintet’s 2009 album Surreal Feel as well as new works.

A livestream will be available free of charge at 8pm on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing. Watch below or on YouTube.


Born in Sapporo, Japan, Yuko Fujiyama studied music in college and moved to the U.S. in 1987, after being touched by the music of Cecil Taylor. Since 1993, she has been an active performer of original music in concerts, clubs, and festivals in and around New York City and overseas. She has performed as a leader with musicians such as William Parker, Mark Dresser, Ikue Mori, Susie Ibarra, Billy Bang, Mark Feldman and Roy Campbell, among many others. She is featured on a number of CDs, including two releases with her ensemble on the CIMP label. In the words of the Village Voice, “she’s created her own pass.”
Continuing in the tradition of drummer bandleaders such as Max Roach, Art Blakey, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, and Paul Motian, Reggie Nicholson has firmly established his reputation in this great tradition. Since relocating to New York City from Chicago in 1988, Nicholson has performed and recorded with a wide variety of new music luminaries such as Henry Threadgill, Amina Claudine Myers, Muhal Richard Abrams, Charles Gayle, Myra Melford, Anthony Braxton, Wilber Morris, Yuko Fujiyama, Roy Campbell, Butch Morris, just to name a few. To date, Nicholson has recorded four albums titled, “Unnecessary Noise Allowed”, “Percussion Peace”, “Timbre Suite”, and “Surreal Feel.”
The Interpretations series, now in its 34th season, is a New York-based concert series focusing on the relationship between contemporary composers and their interpreters. Sometimes the interpreters are the composers themselves; more often, the series features performers who specialize in the interpretation of new music. Since its inception in 1989, Interpretations has featured leading figures in contemporary music and multimedia, including Muhal Richard Abrams, Robert Ashley, Anthony Braxton, Thomas Buckner, FLUX Quartet, Joseph Kubera, Annea Lockwood, and Alvin Lucier, Roscoe Mitchell, Phill Niblock, Pauline Oliveros, Ursula Oppens, and Morton Subotnick.

Fujiyama & Nicholson at Roulette 2024 (audio)