Hiromi Uehara

Hiromi Uehara (上原 ひろみ, Uehara Hiromi, born 26 March 1979), known professionally as Hiromi, is a jazz composer and pianist born in Hamamatsu, Japan. She is known for her virtuosic technique, energetic live performances and blend of musical genres such as stride, post-bop, progressive rock, classical and fusion in her compositions.[1]

Hiromi
Moers Festival 2007
Background information
Birth nameHiromi Uehara
Born (1979-03-26) March 26, 1979
OriginHamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
GenresJazz, jazz fusion, post-bop, classical
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
InstrumentsPiano, keyboard, synthesizers
Years active1996-present
LabelsTelarc International
Websitehiromimusic.com

History

Hiromi started learning classical piano at the age of six,[2] and was later introduced to jazz by her piano teacher Noriko Hikida. At 14, she played with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. When she was 17, she met Chick Corea by chance in Tokyo and was invited to play with him at his concert the next day. After being a jingle writer for a few years for Japanese companies such as Nissan, she enrolled to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.[3] There, she was mentored by Ahmad Jamal and had already signed with jazz label Telarc before her graduation.

Since her debut in 2003, Hiromi has toured the world and appeared in numerous jazz festivals. She performed at the Newport Jazz Festival on August 8, 2009, and at the Paris Olympia in Paris on April 13, 2010, and toured in the summer of 2010 with the Stanley Clarke Band.

Trio

Hiromi's trio initially consisted of bassist Mitch Cohn and drummer Dave DiCenso. In 2004, she recorded her second album Brain with fellow Berklee alumni bassist Tony Grey and drummer Martin Valihora and recorded and toured with them until 2009. Bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Steve Smith were guest artists on two Brain tracks and is featured on her 2011 album Voice. Smith left the trio near the end of 2011, and the British drummer Simon Phillips made with her the 2012 album Move, the 2014 album Alive, and the 2016 album Spark.[4] Her most recent tour (2019) featured Anthony Jackson and Simon Phillips. Her 2016 album Spark reached the #1 position on the US Billboard Jazz Albums chart for the week of April 23, 2016.[5]

The trio has remained with Anthony Jackson and Simon Phillips.

Hiromi's Sonicbloom
Hiromi at the Moers Festival, 2007

On October 19, 2006, the trio added guitarist David Fiuczynski in a performance at the Jazz Factory in Louisville, Kentucky, to form Hiromi's Sonicbloom. He is also featured in the albums Time Control and Beyond Standard. Due to Fiuczynski's teaching commitments at Berklee, guitarist John Shannon performed with the group when Fiuczynski was unavailable.

Drummer Mauricio Zottarelli joined Hiromi's Sonicbloom for the 2009 tour.[6]

Instruments

In an interview published in 2010, Hiromi said she plays the Yamaha CFIII-S concert grand piano, Nord Lead 2, Clavia Nord Electro 2 73, Clavia Nord Stage Piano and Korg microKORG.[7]

World Tour

Hiromi completed concerts around the world in 2019 including Manchester UK and in a church in South London [8]

Discography

Studio albums (as "Hiromi")

Studio albums (as "Hiromi's Sonicbloom")

Studio albums (as "The Trio Project")

DVDs

  • Hiromi Live in Concert (2009, recorded in 2005)
  • Hiromi's Sonicbloom Live in Concert (2007)
  • Solo Live at Blue Note New York (2011)
  • Hiromi: Live in Marciac (2012)
  • Move: Live in Tokyo (2014)

Other appearances

Personal life

Hiromi married Japanese fashion designer Mihara Yasuhiro in 2007, after meeting him to perform at his fashion show in Milan the year before[12]. She is quoted by fashion magazine Women's Wear Daily as saying: "I wear [his designs] almost every day".

See also

References
  1. Jackson, Grant (April 23, 2010). "Hiromi On Piano Jazz". NPR Music. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  2. "Hiromi Uehara". Hiromiuehara.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. Greenlee, Steve (January 29, 2010). "Her place in the sun". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  4. "Hiromi". Concord.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  5. "Jazz Music: Top Jazz Albums & Songs Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  6. "Mauricio Zottarelli | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos". Myspace.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  7. "Hiromi :The Solo Piano Sorcery of Place To Be". Keyboard Magazine. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  8. "Hiromi". The Bridgewater Hall. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  9. "Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra "Goldfingers" - Tokyo's Coolest Sound". Coolestsound.jp. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  10. "Oscar, With Love [Standard 3-CD]". Mackavenue.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-10-08. Retrieved 2017-10-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. https://wwd.com/eye/people/hiromi-uehara-pushes-the-limit-2442720/
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