Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner - Non Classical Hiromi Uehara

By chance, on Utube, I came across this fantastic jazz pianist just about two days ago.
It is strange that this should happen just when Dave Brubeck should die. I had Dave's LPs in the sixties but moved away from listening to jazz to listening to classic piano.
Now this pianist reminds me of all my happy days. It is if I'm back on the beach with my kids and our Dalmation dog running in the waves!
listen espcially to her playing Johann Pachebel's cannon in D.

I agree. She is a great pianist.
I find this pretty inspiring, amazing the way it builds, and rank it in the top 10:

Yes indeed, she is great, just started listening to her some months back too. Glad she is alive.

I agree she's a great pianist but I'm afraid the example above is not very representative of her jazz, which is more of an intense classical virtuoso with an incredible groove, than of this (sorry) romantic soup of "the haze".

If you listen to her records you'll hear as well, extremely well played and compose, in a classical way that's well perfect.

I'd watch this instead :

(starting at 11'00'' she's playing one of her own composition if you want to pass on Gershwins)

"In a silent way" could well apply to the the bass in this piece! IMHO the bass kills this otherwise interesting study, which I think is aptly named. The second time I listened to it I tuned out most of the base and really enjoyed it.

Sorry, I should have made the point that I was refering to the piece named HAZE.

the next Mulgrew Miller - NOT!

I wanted to express the same as I am in agreement with you, Silent Way. My current favorite is the Viva Vegas suite,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhUn9BEN3Mk&noredirect=1

I fell in love with Hiromi's playing on YouTube - incredible chops, very inventive, charismatic - especially what she did with amazing solo versions of "I've Got Rhythm" and "Pachelbel's Canon."

So I was really looking forward to catching her live at SF Jazz a few months ago. Unfortunately, the concert was so bad I left at intermission. I sensed there might be trouble when I saw the humongous drum kit on stage.

Sure enough, every tune was very loud jazz rock as Hiromi and the bassist amped and banged it up to be heard over the drummer, who was whacking the heck out of the skins and cymbals. It was a lot of sound and fury, signifying pretty much nothing.

I'd only attend a Hiromi concert if she was playing solo.

Did you stay long enough to see me? I came on at the intermission, and left right afterwards.

I think Hiromi is wonderful, she's one of the annointed players that arrives young and is here to bring us great music..Chick has a lightning rod for these annointed folks (being one himself..

Dave Frank

M. BDB, Um..., are you implying that you were the tech in charge of the Yamaha CFX there? If so, that is just too cool. I remember your posting about the event in the Piano forum around the time surrounding the concert.

Anyhow, you as are an acoustic pro, somebody has to tell them (the musicians, the mixing board engineer) what to do if the instruments are not in balance, take the lead!

Sometimes (it seems to me) a Japanese musician cannot tell another musician to turn down the volume. I say this because I have seen this happen in Japan. A top class cellist visibly struggling trying to be heard against a pianist in a very small auditorium. It was so obviously out of balance. I wish I had spoken up.

Regards-

Hello Mr. Robert,

For sure, I would by far much rather see a Hiromi Uehara solo too. But I would go see whatever if she came to my area.

These two items, with her trio, are examples of pieces I like:

Beethoven's Pathetique, a slow/quiet/delicate piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCp3qGzkxig

or Move, which, cranks -- and if you can program into your mobile phone alarm clock will work quite well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rxYw7Y45Eo

All the best -

Guess I am getting old - I just get it. I saw her at the Blue Note with Simon P on drums - didn't do anything for me. I watched some of the YouTubes - doesn't connect with me. Techincally amazing but doesn't resonnate But that is why there is moe than one color of paint at the hardware store.

Same here. Incredibly talented, but I'd rather listen to someone like Enrico Pieranunzi or Alan Broadbent any time of the day. Hiromi's playing amazes me, but it doesn't move me like the some of my favorite players. I don't think it has anything to do with age either, because I like plenty of other younger jazz pianists(Ethan Iverson, Adam Benjamin, Tigran Hamasyan, Aaron Parks, Taylor Eigsti and Gearld Clayton to name a few).

I agree. She is technically brilliant. For me, I hear no "soul". I would love to hear her play something without the pyrotechnics. However, I don't know that it would be who she is musically.

[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x-YnzVx6aPI[/video]

Hiromi is great. Almost overwhelmingly virtuosic, actually. Check out this performance of "Choux a la Creme."

[video:youtube]1oz143PbnUo[/video]

I particularly like the plucked bass part starting at 2:57, and the chords played by her left wrist at 5:33.

PS: I find this piece to be a lot of fun, but I'll grant that it's pretty "show-offy." I like it, but I can see how some folks might be a bit put off by it.

HiroMEH.

I wanted to agree with the poster of this thread, I too, just last night came across her playing and was blown away. Very inspiring!!!

She's pretty cute too