PIANIST/COMPOSER HIROMI’S ASTONISHING ARTISTRY
IS ALIVE ON JUNE 17, 2014 RELEASE
New album heralds the return of Hiromi’s Trio Project featuring
contrabass guitarist Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips
“Hiromi has discovered her own genre, and continues to pursue it with great sensitivity, energy, and
dazzling virtuosity. Enjoy her latest with Anthony Jackson & Simon Phillips. What great chemistry!”
– Ahmad Jamal
“Real Music! It sound's like summertime fun with a groovy dangerous swagger, always a party with this
crew! Hiromi, A.J., and Simon continue where they left off. Can’t wait to see them LIVE”
– Robert Trujillo (Metallica)
The major characteristics of life include birth, growth, movement, awareness, adaptation and death. And
ever since she emerged on the scene in 2003, Hiromi has been one of the most profound and prolific
living forces in 21st century music. Mentored by the legendary Ahmad Jamal, the Japanese
pianist/composer has created music that grows with every performance, moves easily beyond stylistic
genres, exhibits an awareness of the entire jazz tradition and adapts to the contributions of her fellow
bandmates.
So it’s only apropos that her latest recording, set for release on June 17, 2014, via Telarc, a division of
Concord Music Group, is entitled Alive.
Her ninth CD as a leader, Alive, heralds the return of Hiromi’s Trio Project, featuring contrabass guitarist
Anthony Jackson (Steely Dan, Paul Simon, Michel Camilo, The O’Jays and Chick Corea) and drummer
Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who, Judas Priest, David Gilmour and Jack Bruce). This terrific triad, which
DownBeat magazine proclaimed as “one of the most exciting groups working in any genre today,” first
formed in 2011 and recorded their first CD, Voice, that year, followed by Move in 2013. On Alive,
Phillips’ powerful, yet poetic percussion and Jackson’s flowing, glow-in-the-dark basslines beautifully
buoy and support Hiromi’s ingenious and impassioned improvisations. Her evocative and expansive
compositions evoke the myriad moods and mysteries of life and reveal the soulful, syncopated simpatico
of her thrilling threesome.
“Alive has a double meaning for me,” Hiromi says. “I wanted to write songs that deal with things and
emotions that we encounter in life. But the word Alive can also mean ‘played live.’ I’ve been performing
with Simon and Anthony for four years. We’ve made three records together, and we’ve done so many live
shows as a trio. We have a great time being adventurous, and I felt that we can make the record sound like
a live recording in front of the audience.
That’s the great thing about having a working trio: We understand how to make each other shine.
Anthony is an amazing improviser. He composes incredible counter-lines when I solo, and he always
plays something to make [the music] shine even more. And Simon has an amazing tone and a beautiful
sound on the drums; he's like an orchestra. They can play anything, and they understand so many different
genres of music. They have no boundaries. It’s been a great journey with this group.”
And the journey continues on Alive, featuring nine selections, all composed by Hiromi, beginning with
the leadoff title track, which features a shimmering McCoy Tyner/Coltrane-like introduction that morphs
into a torrid up-tempo pace. “I wanted the first track to sound like the beginning of life,” Hiromi says,
“with every complicated and detailed combination of life’s creation.”
“Wanderer” features some no-nonsense, 4/4 swing, seasoned by Phillips’ zesty solo drumming, contrasted
by the Latin-tinged “Dreamer” and the bouncy, nursery rhyme melody of “Seeker.” Hiromi injects a sly,
Thelonious Monk “Well You Needn’t” motif in the intro of “Player,” with a fluid and formidable solo by
Jackson. “It can be taken as musicians making music,” she says, “and at the same time, just playing or
having fun.”
“Warrior” begins with a ballad introduction that morphs into a brisk, staccato melody that serves as an
anthem for people to fight for the things they want in life. “Firefly” is a solo ballad composition; a
kaleidoscope of aural colors akin to Erik Satie’s Gallic impressionism. “Spirit” – dedicated to those who
have passed on – is a sparkling, gospel-grooved selection that reveals the true colors of Hiromi’s soul,
with Phillips’ signifying solo. “[The song] is a prayer,” Hiromi says. “People lose loved ones and friends,
but when you close your eyes, you can be with their spirit.” The album closes with the optimistic,
ebullient backbeats of “Life Goes On.”
“I’ve always enjoyed and appreciated so many different kinds of music,” Hiromi says: “classical, rock,
jazz and pop and so on. And that’s why my compositions are so varied.”
As evidenced by this impressive and important recording, Hiromi’s astonishing artistry is very much
Alive: It breathes, grows, adapts and, more importantly, it evolves. Hiromi’s evolution has been fueled by
her ever-evolving gifts as a pianist, improviser, composer, bandleader and – most of all –listener.
“My listening skills have improved,” she says. “Over the years, I’ve learned how to listen more carefully,
and respond musically to what is happening in the moment. That’s what makes my trio shine as a team.”
For more information:
Mike Wilpizeski at 718-459-2117
Mike.Wilpizeski@concordmusicgroup.com
Downloadable Images, Profile, Press Release & Album Art available at:
http://mediakits.concordmusicgroup.com/p/alive/