Hiromi Uehara

Hiromi

Moers Festival 2007
Background information
Birth name Hiromi Uehara
Born March 26, 1979
Origin Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
Genres Jazz, jazz fusion, post-bop, classical
Occupation(s) Musician, composer
Instruments Piano, Keyboard, Synthesizers
Years active 1996-present
Labels Telarc International
Website Official website

Hiromi Uehara (上原ひろみ, born 26 March 1979), known 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 post-bop, progressive rock, classical and fusion in her compositions.[1]

History

Hiromi started learning classical piano at age five, 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.[2] 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 live 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 has been recording and touring with them ever since. Bassist Anthony Jackson was guest artist on two Brain tracks and is featured on her 2011 album Voice, 2012 album Move and 2014 album Alive, along with drummer Simon Philips.[3] Her most recent tour (2014) features Anthony Jackson and Steve Smith.

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.[4]

Instruments

Hiromi plays the Yamaha CFIII-S concert grand piano, Nord Lead 2, Clavia Nord Electro 2 73, Clavia Nord Stage Piano and Korg microKORG.[5]

Discography

Studio albums (as "Hiromi")

Studio albums (as "Hiromi's Sonicbloom")

Studio albums (as "The Trio Project")

DVDs

Other appearances

References

  1. ↑ Jackson, Grant (April 23, 2010). "Hiromi On Piano Jazz". NPR Music. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Boston Globe interview
  3. ↑ Concord Music Group - "Voice" by Hiromi
  4. ↑ Mauricio Zottarelli Myspace page
  5. ↑ "Hiromi :The Solo Piano Sorcery of Place To Be". Keyboard Magazine. Retrieved 11 Jun 2011.
  6. ↑ Coolestsound.jp

External links

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