Articles

Why Should There Be Stars

by Mary Foster Conklin
November 4, 2019

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
October 14, 2019

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
September 27, 2019

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
February 10, 2018

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
October 20, 2017

Hiromi at the Catalina Jazz Club

by Jim Worsley
October 9, 2017

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
April 4, 2016

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 ...