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Why Should There Be Stars

By Mary Foster Conklin

Besides a cursory review of some of the preliminary Grammy ballot submissions, this broadcast included new releases from trumpeter Wallace Roney, vocalists Lili Anel, Lynn Cardona and Heather Bambrick, guitarist Bill Frisell, pianists Hiromi, Lauren Lee and Brenda Earle Stokes, with birthday shout outs to vocalists Ann Richards (pictured) Lauren White, Melissa Stylianou plus pianists Abelita Mateus and Emily Takahashi among others. Playlist Haruna Fukazawa “Contact" from Departure (Summit) 00:00 Lauren White “In a New York Minute" from ...

Hiromi: Spectrum

By Mike Jurkovic

A beacon for jazz to come, since her adrenaline-pumped debut Another Mind (Telarc, 2003), pianist-composer Hiromi Uehara launches herself into her fourth decade with Spectrum, her second album alone at her Yamaha. The music, she hopes, celebrates the closing of one decade and the opening of the next and, without pause, it does, brimming with all the capricious three-dimensional imagination and invention that indelibly mark many fine recordings--her first solo Place To Be (Telarc, 2010), Voice (Telarc, 2011), ...

Hiromi: Spectrum

By Jim Worsley

In an interview in 2019, legendary double bassist Ron Carter discussed his solo record All Alone (EmArcy, 1988). He stated that, “I wanted each track to have its own story. It wouldn't sound like the last tune or the next tune." If Hiromi had this mindset going into Spectrum, then in baseball terminology, she hit a home run. Perhaps, more like a grand slam. She wastes no time in this carefully structured solo endeavor, diving into and broadly ...

Hiromi: Hiromi & Edmar Castaneda Live In Montreal

By Jeff Winbush

Here's a good rule of thumb to consider when reviewing a jazz record and by that, I mean any jazz record. Jazz music is live music so if it sounds good in the studio will it sound even better on the stage? In other words, if you're willing to pay $50 for a ticket, you're probably not getting burned spending $15 for a record. Of course, if it's a live album and Hiromi & Edmar Castenda/Live in Montreal ...

Hiromi and Edmar Castaneda at Blue Note Milano

By Carlo Mogavero

Hiromi at the Catalina Jazz Club

By Jim Worsley

Hiromi TrioCatalina Jazz Club Hollywood, CA August 6, 2017 We were amongst only a handful of early arrivals for a show at the Catalina Jazz Club in North Hollywood CA. A quite casually dressed Asian woman was on the stage carefully cleaning and fussing about on the piano. Her shoulder length hair covered much of her face as she leaned over and delicately manicured this fine instrument. A few minutes had passed when she turned ...

Hiromi: The Trio Project at the Annenberg Center Live

By Geno Thackara

Hiromi: The Trio Project Annenberg Center Live jny: Philadelphia, PA April 1, 2016 She walks onstage without a word, makes sure to gesture towards the other players for their share of applause, and gives the cheering a minute to subside before getting down to business. The first song starts with a light cascade of high piano notes, the kind of slow intro that could usher in a classic acoustic set from any era. The crowd ...

Hiromi: Spark

By Jeff Winbush

There are three reasons why some people will not enjoy Spark, the fourth album from the Trio Project featuring Hiromi Uehara, the Japanese-born pianist and composer and drummer Simon Phillips and bassist Anthony Jackson:1. It's too complex. 2. It rocks too hard to be jazz. 3. It's long (72 minutes).None of these are good reasons. Here are three reasons which are good ones.1. Simplicity has its place. So does complexity. 2. Jazz is not ...

Hiromi: Alive

By Jeff Winbush

If jazz has become a niche market in the music industry (and it is), a contributing factor for its slide into cultural irrelevance is a failure to promote and support new artists. No matter what sub-genre of jazz you personally love, across the board there is no sustained effort to develop a roster of first-tier talent in jazz. Every so often along comes a Esperanza Spalding who joins the long list of previous “saviors" of jazz such as Wynton Marsalis ...

Hiromi: Move

By Glenn Astarita

Keyboardist Hiromi once again reaps the benefits of her superstar rhythmic section, drummer Simon Phillips (The Who, Toto, David Gilmour) and contrabassist Anthony Jackson (Paul Simon, Chick Corea, Steely Dan). A largely acoustic set, she yields an action-packed schema, teeming with intricately designed arrangements while zooming in for the kill on many occasions. However, Hiromi's breadth of scope is rather monolithic, since her arrangements are of the whirlwind variety, where nuance, tonal shadings and ballad-like intricacies complement and contrast her ...

Hiromi: Move

By Jeff Winbush

In a world where the path to commercial success is to play it safe and keep faith in formula, it is only within jazz where being unpredictable is not only a virtue, but an expectation. Hiromi marks her first decade of music-making on her terrific ninth album, Move featuring her Trio Project with bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips.Reunited with Jackson and Phillips for a second outing after 2011's superb Voice, (Telarc, 2011) the two veteran musicians ...

Hiromi: Voice

By Ian Patterson

Hiromi's Voice--her seventh album for Telarc--carries the hallmarks of her previous works: prodigious piano playing, a dash of electro-funk, and strong melodic hooks, served up in a power trio setting. What has changed is the personnel, with Hiromi's rhythm section since' 04 of drummer Martin Valihora and bassist Tony Grey making way for all-rounder Simon Phillips on drums and the innovative Anthony Jackson, on contrabass guitar. Phillips, who impressed most recently on the Trilok Gurtu/NDR Big Band recording 21 Spices ...