Record Reviews

HIROMI UEHARA ~ ALIVE TELARC 35307 (Barcode: 888072353077) ~ JAPAN ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 This is the ninth album by the extraordinary Japanese female pianist / composer Hiromi UeharaFind albums by this artist, and the third recording with her current trio (called The Trio ProjectFind albums by this artist) with the legendary veteran American bassist Anthony JacksonFind albums by this artist and the outstanding British drummer Simon PhillipsFind albums by this artist. The album comprises of nine original compositions, all by Hiromi. Seeing Hiromi on stage, which I was fortunate to experience once again just a few weeks ago (with drummer Steve SmithFind albums by this artist replacing the otherwise busy Simon Phillips), clearly reaffirms the impression that Hiromi is in a class of her own, blessed by powers like a force of Nature. The moment she steps on the stage the fragile and modest women turns into a Diva with an irresistible personality and overwhelming performing skills, simply stunning her audiences for the entire duration of the concert. She is a complete pianist, able to play in every style and in every genre with the same ease and elegance, regardless if she plays a Classical piece or a Jazz improvisation or a Rocky riff. The Trio Project finds Hiromi supported by two Masters of their trade, which turn it into a mean and lean music machine, which is unstoppable. With this trio Hiromi consistently moves away from the traditional Jazz environment and creates her own niche, which is somewhere in between Fusion, Prog and Vaudeville. Jackson lays a wonderful background sound upon which Hiromi´s improvisations ride securely and confidently. Phillips is right behind her, supporting her every move and emphasizing the rhythmical structures, forcefully but non-aggressively. As a composer Hiromi manages to come up every time with a set of superbly melodic pieces, which manage to sound different from everything she did earlier and yet somehow are consistently familiar, even catchy, from the first time one listens to them. She surely is one of the best song-weavers on the contemporary scene, proving time after time that nice little tunes can be anything but trivial or simplistic. Such a collection of talents in several areas, like composition, performance and showmanship is very rare indeed. With nine albums (and four DVDs) in just a decade Hiromi emerged as one of the most prolific, impressive and talented new arrivals on the world´s music scene, and she absolutely deserves every bit of the admiration and following she enjoys all over the world.

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

HIROMI UEHARA ~ LIVE IN MARCIAC TELARC 34112 ~ JAPAN ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2011 This is the third DVD by the extraordinary Japanese female pianist / composer Hiromi UeharaFind albums by this artist, and the first outing with her current trio (called The Trio ProjectFind albums by this artist) with the legendary veteran American bassist Anthony JacksonFind albums by this artist and the outstanding British drummer Simon PhillipsFind albums by this artist. The DVD comprises of seven original compositions by Hiromi and the trio´s interpretation of Ludwig van BeethovenFind albums by this artist´s sonata. Five of these pieces are from her seventh album called "VoiceFind albums with this title" (please follow the link to read more about this album), performed here live and in a slightly different order than on the studio album. Two more pieces originate from her debut album and the remaining one was previously unrecorded. Seeing Hiromi on stage, which I was fortunate to experience several times already, clearly reaffirms the impression that Hiromi is in a class of her own and that she is blessed by powers of the magnitude of a force of Nature. The moment she steps on the stage the fragile and modest women turns into a Diva with an irresistible personality and overwhelming performing skills, simply stunning her audiences for the entire duration of the concert. She is a complete pianist, able to play in every style and in every genre with the same ease and elegance, regardless if she plays a Classical piece or a Jazz improvisation or a Rocky riff. Of course a DVD is not exactly being there when this DVD was filmed, but it is as close as those who were not fortunate enough to be there in the flesh will ever get. Enjoy every moment of it!

DVD 1 Recommend To A Friend

HIROMI UEHARA ~ MOVE TELARC 33814 ~ JAPAN ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2012 This is the 8th album by the extraordinary Japanese pianist / composer Hiromi UeharaFind albums by this artist, and the 2nd recording with her current trio (called The Trio ProjectFind albums by this artist) with the wonderful veteran American bassist Anthony JacksonFind albums by this artist and the outstanding British drummer Simon PhillipsFind albums by this artist. The album comprises of nine original compositions, all by Hiromi, three of which are combined into a mini-suite. During the last decade since Hiromi first "exploded" on the scene, drawing immediate attention, she managed to produce an extensive body of work of outstanding quality, which has very few, if any, parallels. Immensely gifted as a composer and blessed by virtuosic piano ability, in addition to her personal charm, beauty and above all heavenly smile, she is talent incarnate. Her studio albums, live videos and cooperation projects with other musicians, like Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist, Stanley ClarkeFind albums by this artist and others are all examples of her versatility and limitless abilities. Hiromi´s output with this particular trio is some of her best, which is not surprising considering the level of experience and talent of her rhythm section. Jackson´s electric bass pulsations are funky and wonderfully fill the space between the piano chords, always exactly on time and in tune, beautifully supportive and inventive at once. Phillips, who is a very "busy" and dynamic drummer, suits her quirky music perfectly, seemingly being all over the drum set as if he was an octopus. The unity, perfect match and obvious musical coherence and almost telepathic mutual understanding turn this trio into a "scary" music making machine. Hiromi is often criticized for being "all over the place", both as a composer and a player, but this kind of critique is completely senseless. She can play faster and more accurately than most, and her music is multi-layered, with melodic lines and funky rhythm vamps co-existing logically and harmonically. Therefore one can suspect that most of any criticism towards her is primarily motivated by envy. This trio can be seen and heard playing live on the "Live In MarciacFind albums with this title" DVD, which was recorded a year earlier, performing mostly material from their debut album "VoiceFind albums with this title". Obviously Hiromi fans need no special arguments to grab this one ASAP, those who are still unfamiliar with her wonderful output should not waste any more time ignoring her, just give her a chance and you won´t regret it. Superb stuff!

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

HIROMI UEHARA ~ MOVE – LIVE IN TOKYO TELARC 35561 (Barcode: 888072355613) ~ JAPAN ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the fourth DVD by the extraordinary Japanese female pianist / composer Hiromi UeharaFind albums by this artist, and the second outing with her current trio (called The Trio ProjectFind albums by this artist) with the legendary veteran American bassist Anthony JacksonFind albums by this artist and the outstanding British drummer Simon PhillipsFind albums by this artist. The DVD comprises of nine original compositions, all by Hiromi, which are all from her eighth album called "MoveFind albums with this title" (please follow the link to read more about this album), performed here live and in a slightly different order than on the studio album. Seeing Hiromi on stage, which I was fortunate to experience several times already, clearly reaffirms the impression that Hiromi is in a class of her own and that she is blessed by powers of the magnitude of a force of Nature. The moment she steps on the stage the fragile and modest women turns into a Diva with an irresistible personality and overwhelming performing skills, simply stunning her audiences for the entire duration of the concert. She is a complete pianist, able to play in every style and in every genre with the same ease and elegance, regardless if she plays a Classical piece or a Jazz improvisation or a Rocky riff. Of course a DVD is not exactly being there when this DVD was filmed, but it is as close as those who were not fortunate enough to be there in the flesh will ever get. Enjoy every moment of it!

DVD 1 Recommend To A Friend

HIROMI UEHARA ~ SPARK TELARC 38247 (Barcode: 888072382473) ~ JAPAN ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is the 10th studio album by the extraordinary Japanese female pianist / composer Hiromi UeharaFind albums by this artist, and the 4th (and sadly last) recording with her trio (called The Trio ProjectFind albums by this artist) with the legendary veteran American bass guitarist Anthony JacksonFind albums by this artist and the outstanding British drummer Simon PhillipsFind albums by this artist. The album comprises of nine original compositions, all by Hiromi. Seeing Hiromi on stage, which I was fortunate to experience many times, clearly reaffirms the impression that Hiromi is in a class of her own, blessed by powers like a force of Nature. The moment she steps on the stage the fragile and modest women turns into a Diva with an irresistible personality and overwhelming performing skills, simply stunning her audiences for the entire duration of the concert. She is a complete pianist, able to play in every style and in every genre with the same ease and elegance, regardless if she plays a Classical piece or a Jazz improvisation or a Rocky riff. The Trio Project finds Hiromi supported by two Masters of their trade, which turn it into a mean and lean music machine, which is unstoppable. With this trio Hiromi consistently moves away from the traditional Jazz environment and creates her own niche, which is somewhere in between Fusion, Prog and Vaudeville. Jackson lays a wonderful background sound upon which Hiromi´s improvisations ride securely and confidently. Phillips is right behind her, supporting her every move and emphasizing the rhythmical structures, forcefully but non-aggressively. As a composer Hiromi manages to come up every time with a set of superbly melodic pieces, which manage to sound different from everything she did earlier and yet somehow are consistently familiar, even catchy, from the first time one listens to them. She surely is one of the best song-weavers on the contemporary scene, proving time after time that nice little tunes can be anything but trivial or simplistic. Such a collection of talents in several areas, like composition, performance and showmanship is very rare indeed. Overall, this is a brilliant example of an extraordinary talent, which over time established Hiromi as one of the leading young Jazz stars in the world. Although some critics tried to classify her as a wunderkind, she proved beyond all doubt that she is the genuine talent in her own class.

Updated: 14/02/2025Posted: 14/02/2025

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

HIROMI UEHARA ~ VOICE TELARC 32819 ~ JAPAN ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2011 This is the seventh album by the extraordinary Japanese pianist / composer Hiromi UeharaFind albums by this artist, and the first recording with her current trio (called The Trio ProjectFind albums by this artist) with the wonderful veteran American bassist Anthony JacksonFind albums by this artist and the outstanding British drummer Simon PhillipsFind albums by this artist. The album comprises of eight original compositions, all by Hiromi, and an interpretation of a Classical piece (Ludwig van BeethovenFind albums by this artist´s piano sonata No. 8, "Pathetique"). During the last decade since Hiromi first "exploded" on the scene, drawing immediate attention, she managed to produce an extensive body of work of outstanding quality, which has very few, if any, parallels. Immensely gifted as a composer and blessed by virtuosic piano ability, in addition to her personal charm, beauty and above all heavenly smile, she is talent incarnate. Her studio albums, live videos and cooperation projects with other musicians, like Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist, Stanley ClarkeFind albums by this artist and others are all examples of her versatility and limitless abilities. Hiromi´s output with this particular trio is some of her best, which is not surprising considering the level of experience and talent of her rhythm section. Jackson´s electric bass pulsations are funky and wonderfully fill the space between the piano chords, always exactly on time and in tune, beautifully supportive and inventive at once. Phillips, who is a very "busy" and dynamic drummer, suits her quirky music perfectly, seemingly being all over the drum set as if he was an octopus. The unity, perfect match and obvious musical coherence and almost telepathic mutual understanding turn this trio into a "scary" music making machine. Hiromi is often criticized for being "all over the place", both as a composer and a player, but this kind of critique is completely senseless. She can play faster and more accurately than most, and her music is multi-layered, with melodic lines and funky rhythm vamps co-existing logically and harmonically. Therefore one can suspect that most of any criticism towards her is primarily motivated by envy. This trio can be seen and heard playing live on the "Live In MarciacFind albums with this title" DVD, which was recorded a few months later, performing mostly material from this album. Obviously Hiromi fans need no special arguments to grab this one ASAP, those who are still unfamiliar with her wonderful output should not waste any more time ignoring her, just give her a chance and you won´t regret it. Superb stuff!

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend