The Future of Piano Jazz
Jim Newsom | Norfolk, VA | 06/27/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When the NPR Piano Jazz Christmas came to the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk in December, 2004, youthful pianist/composer Hiromi Uehara ignited what were otherwise fairly sedate proceedings with her musical instincts, rock star looks and physical approach to performance. With this, her third album, she pushes the boundaries of piano trio jazz into unexplored territory, creating a vibrant blend of jazz, classical, pop and rock that is beautiful, expressive, punchy, melodic, rhythmically variegated, fiery and fresh. At the ripe young age of 26, she already has her own idea of what the future of jazz should look like, and it's an alluring vision. The centerpiece of this all-original outing is the four-part "Music for Three-Piece-Orchestra," a rich suite encompassing quiet classicism, gentle lyricism, controlled furor and Emerson, Lake & Palmer prog-rock. The closing "Return of King-Fu World Champion" takes the ELP connection one step further with Tarkus-like synth and clavinet. The bonus DVD provides a brief sample of Hiromi's exciting live presence. --Jim Newsom
Originally published in Port Folio Weekly - February 28, 2006
Copyright 2006 Port Folio Weekly. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission."
Most Amazing!
J. P. Pascoe | South Burlington, VT United States | 04/09/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was doing a little research for a radio show on music coming out of Japan and stumbled across this CD. What luck! This is the best new pianist I've heard in many years! I'm not alone in thinking this: At seven Hiromi was accepted as a student at the Yamaha School of Music in her native Japan; at 14 she went to play with the Czech Philharmonic; at 17 Chick Corea invited her to play with him! (The influence is obvious in some of her other work.) At 20 Hiromi came to the USA and attended Berklee School of Music, graduating in 2004.
Since then there have been four Hiromi CDs that I know about, and they're all utterly amazing, though each is a bit different. I think Spiral is a bit truer to the jazz genre (and was awarded a Grand Prize by Swing Journal). It features Tony Grey on Bass & Martin Valihora on drums. Her first two CDs are wildly and wonderfully energetic (and one, Brain, also won Swing Journal's Album of the Year in 2005), and her new CD Time Control is reminiscent of the best work of Chick Corea & Return to Forever. In fact, in Japan one can buy her latest CD "Duet" featuring a live performance Featuring Hiromi with Chick Corea! Pricey though...
Now keep in mind... Hiromi has done all this and yet the bio on her web site says she was born in 1979. So at this writing she's still not even 30 years old!
My recommendation? Buy all of her CDs and cherish them.
"
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1