Alive
Wanderer
Dreamer
Seeker
Player
Warrior
Firefly
Spirit
Life Goes On
Hiromi Uehara (piano)
Anthony Jackson (contrabass guitar)
Simon Phillips (drums)
rec. Avatar Studios, Studio A, New York USA on February 5-7, 2014
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[74:54]
Alive is the third album of Hiromi’s Trio Project after Voice (2011) and Move (2012). If there is anyone out there who doesn’t know her they can easily
‘try before they buy’ by watching her on YouTube and I’d recommend “I’ve Got Rhythm” and “Desire” which will be enough to hook them, reel
them in and have them needing to buy this disc. One thing I always find a problem when writing reviews is running out of superlatives so I
must apologise for describing each of these three musicians as sensational and they deliver some truly rewarding listening. When I first came across Hiromi
via her debut disc Another Mind in 2003 I was blown away by the most amazing jazz pianism I had encountered since Art Tatum and Bobby Enriquez.
That debut disc won the title of foreign jazz album of the year in the 2004 Japan Annual Gold Disc Awards. On that disc Anthony Jackson was one of the
guest artists. Jackson is often credited with having invented the 6 string bass which is why his guitar is known as a contrabass guitar and the extra 2
strings certainly do give it extra resonance and presence. There is a nice multi-racial mix here with British drummer Simon Phillips making up the trio. He
has played with an incredibly wide range of musicians from his father Sid Phillips’ Dixieland band from the age of 12 to Frank Zappa, Brian Eno, The Who
and Tears for Fears as well spending over 20 years as drummer in the rock band Toto.
Many of the tracks are characterised by Hiromi’s exceptional piano playing involving hugely fast races up and down the keyboard though her more measured
excursions are equally fabulous as with track 4 Seeker. All the songs are Hiromi originals which always demonstrate a highly original
compositional talent at work. The result is a wildly exciting experience from a genuine original.
Steve Arloff
CD Reviews
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