Hiromi: Voice

Telarc Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Voice

Readers of this blog know that I’m a big fan of pianist/composer Hiromi Uehara. If you look up the definition for prodigy, you might find her picture; she began to play the piano at age 6, was introduced to jazz at 8, performed with the Czech Philharmonic at 14, and played a concert with Chick Corea at a still youthful 17. She’s a Berklee College of Music grad and was signed by Telarc Records while still in school.

Since her professional debut in 2003, Hiromi has been featured on almost a dozen albums or DVDs. Several are in a solo piano setting, but the majority are with a trio; on this, her newest release, she is joined by bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips. All but one of the nine tunes are Hiromi compositions; the exception is her “rearrangement” of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 (Pathétique).

Voice is a reflection of Hiromi’s belief that, in her words, “people’s real voices are expressed in their emotions. It’s not something that you really say. It’s more something that you have in your heart. Maybe it’s something you haven’t said yet. Maybe you’re never going to say it. But it’s your true voice. Instrumental music is very similar.”

Don’t be surprised, then, at the absence of lyrics in these melodies.

This is concert jazz: something you listen to, not dance or swing to. But, thanks to Hiromi, it’s fascinating, mesmerizing and dazzling. Her technique is near perfect, particularly during up-tempo pieces. Her touch is super-controlled; you won’t hear any fluffs.

What you will experience borders on awe; the lady is almost unbelievable.

Hiromi: Place to Be

Telarc Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 6.3.10
Buy CD: Place to Be

This is Japanese pianist Hiromi's sixth Telarc album under her own name; she also was featured in a release with the Stanley Clarke Trio, Jazz in the Garden.

She was part of a small group on the earlier albums, and this is her first solo recording.

I was dazzled by her technique on 2007's Time Control, but wasn't sure that she'd become a true jazz artist. But she definitely entered the jazz arena with 2008's Beyond Standard, which contained covers of jazz standards, allowing favorable comparison to other pianists.

As for 2009's Jazz in the Garden, she couldn't help but swing with Clarke's group.

As a soloist here, though, Hiromi is performing her own compositions, and the jazz “feel” has almost disappeared. Her technique and execution are exemplary, particularly in her up-tempo tunes, but the neat, exciting, swinging chops that she demonstrated previously are missing in action.

Based on this album, Hiromi is more of a concert artist, in the style of George Winston, than a swinger like Oscar Peterson.

Still, one must stand in awe of her keyboard mastery.

The Stanley Clarke Trio: Jazz in the Garden

Heads Up Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 12.10.09
Buy CD: Jazz in the Garden

Long ago, when meters usually were 2/4 time, the acoustic bass was just a straight rhythm instrument. Unless you were listening to a concert orchestra, it never was used for solos, and then it was “bowed.”

Then along came guys such as Chubby Jackson, who played with one of the early Woody Herman “Herds,” and things began to change. The beat was a solid, driving 4/4, and Jackson even added a fifth string to the basic four-string instrument, to make it easier to place the fingers to achieve desired melodic lines.

As icons such as Ray Brown, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen and Stanley Clarke entered the scene, the bass became an important musical instrument.

This album features the incomparable Clarke and his trio.

Stanley Clarke has been “the” bassist for a long time. He's both a master of the instrument, and a master of innovation, moving quickly from straight-ahead jazz into fusion and the more eclectic genres.

For this release, he's joined by Lenny White — one of the tastiest, hardest-driving drummers working today — and Hiromi Uehara, a young Japanese pianist who made her recording debut just six years ago. White is a living legend who, like Clarke, first played with the Joe Henderson band.

The dozen tracks in this release include covers of great jazz standards such as “Someday My Prince Will Come,” Miles Davis' “Solar,” Joe Henderson's “Isotope” and a take-off on Duke Ellington's “Take the A Train,” titled “Take the Coltrane.” The rest include half a dozen originals by Clarke or Hiromi, along with a traditional Japanese folk song.

It's a marvelous performance by a trio of masterful artists. I hear something new every time I listen.

Hiromi: Sonicbloom Time Control

Telarc
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.3.07
Buy CD: Sonicbloom Time Control

Hiromi Uehara is a 26-year-old pianist, born and raised in Japan, who came to the United States in 1999 to study at Boston's Berklee College of Music. 

She began to play piano at age 6, and within a year was a student at the Yamaha School of Music. At 14, already recognized as a prodigy, she went to Czechoslovakia and played with the Czech Philharmonic. She was 17 when she met Chick Corea, who invited her to perform with him. 

Corea was just the first jazz artist impressed by her; Ahmad Jamal co-produced her first CD for Telarc ("Another Mind") in 2003. 

This is the fourth album she has released on the same label. 

Her basic group is a trio, but she added a guitar for this CD; she also wrote all the arrangements. She plays both standard and electric keyboards; David Fiuczynski plays electric guitar. The rest of the rhythm section consists of British bassist Tony Grey and Slovokian drummer Martin Valihora. 

The quartet's sound clearly shows Corea's influence, though Hiromi's compositions are far more intricate than anything he did. Take note: This is definitely not straight-ahead jazz, and it may be far too "modern" for mainstream listeners. 

But based on the number of CDs released, and the comprehensive sales package assembled by Telarc, this group obviously is considered a "hot property." 

And yes, as a keyboard artist Hiromi is dazzling: blazing fast one moment, serenely soft the next. 

Her love for jazz was late to arrive, and her classical training is evident in the slow and mid-tempo compositions. But too much is going on in some of her arrangements, and she erred in using a jazz-rock guitarist, rather than a more standard player. Her compositions have a distinctly Asian feel and atmosphere, which clashes with the jazz-rock guitar stylings. 

While Hiromi obviously is a prolific composer, I'd like to hear her versions of some basic jazz standards. 

But I certainly understand why Telarc is excited about her. It will be a pleasure to hear Hiromi grow musically.