Mesmerized By Hiromi

Jazz Pianist Hiromi

Flashy, reliable automobiles and state of the art electronic wonders are not the only commodities bearing the vaunted Japanese gold standard of excellence these days: In the arts, there is also the swelling contingent of impressive, well-trained Japanese jazz musicians who are making their presence felt, and appreciated, on the International jazz music scene. Pianist Hiromi is one of them, and she made one of her recurring appearances at Yoshi's Jazz Club in Oakland California for a four-night engagement, April 5 - April 8. 2012. I managed to catch a special matinee show on Sunday evening, April 8, 2012 at 6:00 p. m.

To be honest, I had not heard much of her work until I happened to tune into a local jazz radio station while driving on the freeway; they were in the middle of an intensely swingin' jazz piece, and the pianist was on fire. The DJ back announced the pianist as one, Hiromi (even he sounded out of breath), who was currently in town at Yoshi's Jazz Club. That was it for me. My Sunday evening was booked!

I immediately became interested in learning all I could about Hiromi. What leaped out of her bio at me, besides the fact that she was born in Hamamatsu, Japan, was that, she was mentored by legendary pianists Ahmad Jamal at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and Chick Corea. In Ahmad Jamal, Hiromi had as a teacher, a professional whose relationship with the piano, and respect for the instrument approached reverence. I recall a radio interview during which Jamal recounted an incident in a New York jazz club where he was performing; an inebriated patron stumbled over to his piano and spilled red wine on the keys, Jamal said something to the effect, "...when I saw that red wine all over those beautiful black and white keys, I immediately got up, called over Israel (Crosby: bassist) and Vernel (Fournier: drummer), packed up our instruments, went and got our car, and drove straight to Chicago." Shortly after arriving in Chicago the group became the 'House Trio' at Chicago's Pershing Hotel, and jazz history was about to be made.

If Hiromi was mentored by Mr. Jamal, then hers was a sound to hear.

The first sight that greeted me as I walked into Yoshi's jazz music room, was a drum setup that seemed to rise to the ceiling, and take up almost half of the stage; a magnificent Yamaha CFlll-S Concert Grand Piano took up the other half. The drum set resembled an edifice of transparent silver and aluminum spheroid objects, with six cymbals perched like flying saucers, high above the drummer's chair; not gaudy, but ultra modern, imposing, and impressive. It served to symbolize the body, soul and spirit of the Hiromi Trio Project.

Drummer Simon Phillips

When drummer Simon Phillips eventually took his position behind the drums, he literally could not be seen, but throughout the evening, the cathedral of sound he developed, of gusting staccato sequences and thrilling arpeggios, pummeled the surrounding room like a roaring hurricane making landfall; though when the mood demanded, he could be elegant, and feather gentle.

The Hiromi Project is theatre. It is music theatre of the highest order, put on by three compelling artists. Hiromi Uehara, piano; bassist Anthony Jackson, and drummer Simon Phillips. Hiromi, a virtuoso pianist, is the main character; the star, around whom the plot and the story revolve. Her performance proved it.

When Hiromi is playing she can become intense, sometimes she is animated and communicative with body and facial language. Sometimes she is a study in whimsical responses to her own playing, then she'll quickly shift to absorbed concentration, painting a picture of an artist committed to the idea of excellence as a hallmark of performance. She'll turn her piano stool into a theatrical prop, a springboard to launch her upright into an exclamatory, consuming, tonally dynamic, rhythmic orgasm. Hiromi is always modern, alive, exciting and subtly sensuous. Her theatre is integral to audience pleasure; it can heighten, or release tension, or cap a climax. She is many enigmas; enigmas solved only through the keys on her grand piano.

Hiromi started the evening show with one of her compositions (Delusion), on which she displayed intricate left hand harmonic and melodic figures. I was reminded of past great stride pianists whose great left hands were their pride (James P. Johnson; Art Tatum; Fats Waller; Mary Lou Williams; Thelonious Monk). The trio then rattled off a triptych of her compositions which demonstrated the power and cohesiveness of the unit as Hiromi took the room through a stunning variety of playing styles and music genres. First they played a funk-based fusion piece, with Hiromi switching to synthesizer, increasing the tempo and energizing the rhythm with brilliant keyboard colors; then she played the synthesizer with her right hand, and used her left hand to produce a tasty rhythmic brew from the piano, expertly, effortlessly making it all fit together. Drummer Simon Phillips was in his element, producing the riveting rhythmic dynamism developed during his stints with Toto, The Who & David Gilmour.

The second selection was more classical in order and execution, with it she changed the mood significantly and gave the audience an exhibition of her rigorous classical training. She incorporated Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" into the movement, re-fashioned the tune's harmonic architecture from inside to outside (much like pianist Bill Evans), utilizing direct visual contact and profound telepathic communication with drummer Phillips to change moods, tempi and direction very emphatically. Phillips to his credit understood the power of his drums, his role in this theatre, and he responded with complete control of the drum's dynamic range, allowing Hiromi to present faultlessly, some of the most exciting, demanding and challenging music of her program.

Bassist Anthony Jackson

Turning to gospel and the blues, taken at a very slow tempo allowed bassist Anthony Jackson to add deep feeling to Hiromi's searching piano forays into the music's indigo mood; at times she resorted to block chords to effect warmth against Phillips' gentle, bracing time signature and then when she instinctively felt that her audience had 'got down' as far as they might with her, she nimbly employed varying force and reversing colors for a tighter embrace. Prolonging the embrace, she turned her head sideways, placed her left ear down close to the piano keyboard, as if she were listening intently, then she used her right hand to pulse a hypnotic repeating pattern, as her left hand deftly walked away into the deep waters of the piano's lower register, embellishing the mood with more blues and swing for Anthony Jackson's bass to return to the melody and end the tune. It was breathtaking.  

Hiromi did not announce the names of these tunes before or after playing them. In retrospect, it was immaterial. Their music was exciting, dynamic, unforgettable; 'nobody was worried, and nobody seemed to care.' In any case, giving them names might have categorized the performance, and Hiromi is proving that she is beyond category.

Hiromi did however name her fifth selection of the show (Haste). It featured her on solo piano playing with clear classical overtones, in some sections as she gracefully meandered the piano keyboard, her technique, exquisite tonal color and enthusiasm, seemed to mirror those of the eminent twentieth century virtuoso classical pianist Vladimir Horowitz. She also demonstrated an uncanny ability to genuinely excite an audience.

For the program's final selection the trio returned with full power. Hiromi led with amazing playing intensity fueled by blurred hand speed, moving like a nectar-seeking hummingbird's oscillating wings; never losing focused intent, or harmonic balance; each expressed through genuine joy, without strain or overwrought piano histrionics; producing left hand rhythmic innovations, propulsion and accuracy much like the great jazz pianist McCoy Tyner. Explosively augmenting Hiromi's brilliance was Simon Phillips whose drumming now approached a seismic event. At the end, the room stood for a rousing ovation and demanded, in unison, an encore, which The Hiromi Trio Project graciously obliged. Hiromi had given her audience an exclusive look into the mega music theatre of her mind, from its mezzanine of blues/rock/jazz/fusion, to its sophisticated, charmingly furnished penthouse of the classics, and deepened the experience with a pianistic style that encompassed, stride, jazz, rock, gospel, fusion and classical. She is a joy to see, and hear.

Hiromi's music epitomizes excitement and adventure, it speaks out of a soul with trusting eyes, like a child's. Her music reveals the passion of an indomitable spirit, that once released, can unleash powerful external emotions; at any time; in any place: That is the essence and magic of Hiromi Uehara.

-------------------------------