Omschrijving

Hiromi Uehara (Hamamatsu, Japan, 26 maart 1979), ook bekend als Hiromi, is een Japanse jazzcomponiste en pianiste. 
Ze is bekend om haar virtuoze techniek en energieke live-optredens. 
Ze mixt een aantal muziekstijlen zoals postbop, progressive rock, klassieke muziek en jazzfusion in haar composities.

Hiromi leerde klassieke muziek spelen op piano op vijfjarige leeftijd en werd door haar pianoleraar Noriko Hikida 
in contact gebracht met jazzmuziek. Op veertienjarige leeftijd speelde ze mee met het Tsjechisch Filharmonisch Orkest. 
Op haar zeventiende kwam ze in Tokio toevallig in contact met Chick Corea, die haar uitnodigde om mee te spelen bij zijn concert. 
Ze schreef enkele jaren jingles voor Japanse bedrijven alvorens zich in te schrijven in het Berklee College of Music in Boston. 
Ze kreeg Ahmad Jamal als mentor en had alvorens af te studeren al een platencontract bij het jazzlabel Telarc. (Wikipedia)

Jeff Winbush on allaboutjazz.com, April 1, 2016:

There are three reasons why some people will not enjoy Spark, the fourth album from the Trio Project featuring Hiromi Uehara, 
the Japanese-born pianist and composer and drummer Simon Phillips and bassist Anthony Jackson:

1. It's too complex. 2. It rocks too hard to be jazz. 3. It's long (72 minutes).

None of these are good reasons. Here are three reasons which are good ones:

1. Simplicity has its place. So does complexity. 
2. Jazz is not a hyphenated word. It's just jazz. 
3. You can't make and bake a cake in two minutes. Patience is its own reward.

Hiromi continues to be one of the most inventive and awe-inspiring pianists in jazz today. 
Phillips' drumming is alternatingly both dynamic and precise. Jackson is the silent partner of the band, 
but is the glue which holds it together so it doesn't fly apart into undisciplined soloing. 

That's the risk involved in a Hiromi recording. 
At what point will her dazzling proficiency give way to just spraying notes all around the joint?
Hiromi can match a guitar god like Van Halen for speed, frenzy and mindless self-indulgence when she goes off...
 
Oscar Peterson said: "Too many jazz pianists limit themselves to a personal style, a trademark, so to speak. 
They confine themselves to one type of playing. I believe in using the entire piano as a single instrument capable of 
expressing every possible musical idea. I have no one style. I play as I feel."

Hiromi Uehara is living what Peterson advised. Hers is the piano in the Spark. 

Personnel: 
Hiromi - Piano, keyboards
Anthony Jackson - Contrabass guitar
Simon Phillips - Drums 

foobar2000 1.3.9 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2017-07-22 14:30:04
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Hiromi Trio Project / Spark
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR10      -0.04 dB   -11.87 dB      9:04 01-Spark
DR9       -0.07 dB   -11.53 dB      8:54 02-In A Trance
DR10      -0.32 dB   -14.42 dB      7:27 03-Take Me Away
DR10       0.00 dB   -12.18 dB      5:43 04-Wonderland
DR10      -0.17 dB   -13.92 dB      8:15 05-Indulgence
DR10      -0.15 dB   -12.88 dB      8:51 06-Dilemma
DR11      -0.12 dB   -12.71 dB      7:42 07-What Will Be, Will Be
DR13      -2.60 dB   -21.81 dB      8:51 08-Wake Up And Dream
DR9       -0.12 dB   -12.09 dB      7:31 09-All's Well
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of tracks:  9
Official DR value: DR10

Samplerate:        96000 Hz
Channels:          2
Bits per sample:   24
Bitrate:           3073 kbps
Codec:             FLAC
=========================================================================