Hiromi’s
10th album features the return of The Trio Project with contrabass guitarist
Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips
All
great human passions – whether romantic, creative, inventive, or transformative
– begin with a single spark. On her tenth album as a leader, Japanese
pianist/composer Hiromi traces the path of the flame ignited by that spark as
it consumes and inspires. Over the course of nine expressively charged songs,
the listener is carried away on an impassioned spiritual journey that might
tell the story of a personal discovery, a love affair, or the creation of the
music itself.
Set for
release April 1st, 2016 on Telarc, a division of Concord Music Group, Spark
showcases the always thrilling sound of Hiromi’s Trio Project with her most
narratively sweeping and emotionally overflowing set of music to date. The
pianist finds her own spark in her interaction with her triomates of the last
five years, contrabass guitarist Anthony Jackson (Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Chick
Corea, The O’Jays) and drummer Simon Phillips (The Who, David Gilmour, Judas
Priest, Toto, Jack Bruce).
Since
forming in 2010, The Trio Project has explored the richness of the inner voice
on their 2011 debut, Voice; the dynamic, unceasing motion of time on their 2013
follow-up, Move; and captured the feeling of their electrifying live
performances on 2014’s brilliant Alive. With Spark, the trio again exemplifies
why DownBeat magazine has called them “one of the most exciting groups working
in any genre today,” with the leader’s effusive, heartfelt virtuosity supported
by Jackson’s vigorously fluid basslines and Phillips’ ability to be
simultaneously propulsive and witty behind the kit.
“Playing
with this trio is like a never-ending adventure,” Hiromi says. “They never play
safe and they always look for new things; we always play as if this is our
first and last show. With how much passion and love we feel for the music,
every show I feel a spark.”
The
recording begins with faint, delicate solo piano, lending a sense of magical
anticipation that Hiromi likens to opening the first page of a book, “the
moment that you bring yourself into the story.” A slowly dawning wash of
keyboards ushers in the title track’s buoyant groove, illustrating the very
moment of spark or inspiration that sets the whole album in motion.
“In a
Trance” is anything but hypnotic. The fleet and fiery tune, accented by Latin
rhythms, depicts the next stage of the album’s nascent passion as the spark
catches hold and becomes all-consuming. The frantic pace spurs stunning and
heart-racing solos from both Hiromi and Phillips. At its most powerful, the
trance can carry you to another place, as on the next piece, the wondrous “Take
Me Away.”
“When I
perform, I always want to go to somewhere that I haven’t discovered,” Hiromi
explains. “A new place, a new zone in the heart that I’ve never been. New
things require more risk and can be scary, but because you’ve never seen it
before it can also be extremely beautiful and that’s always what I’m looking
for.”
The
destination in this case is “Wonderland,” that place on the border of
imagination only visited by those brave and adventurous enough to discover it.
The piece is based around the distinctive sound of Phillips’ octobans, a set of
high-pitched, melodically-tuned tom-toms. The drummer thus establishes the tune’s
celebratory melody with its hint of Afro-Caribbean rhythm before it’s picked up
by the piano and gradually driven into a harder, rock-influenced churn before
Hiromi responds with soulful flourishes.
“When
you’re in Wonderland, you indulge yourself and can really forget time,” says
Hiromi about the next piece, “Indulgence.” She continues, “It can go really
fast or really slow, and for that moment you’re the master of time. That’s the
feeling that I really wanted to capture.” Here the pace slows to a free-floating
stroll interrupted by sudden, darting digressions. Jackson is at his most
elastic throughout, adding immensely to a feeling of distorted time that even
Dalí would appreciate.
Urgency
returns with a vengeance on “Dilemma,” which Hiromi jokingly describes as the
price paid for indulgence. “You stop and think, ‘Should I go farther or step
back?’ This song is very dramatic to express the sense of going back and forth
in your mind.” With its constantly shifting sections and bristling 11/8 tempo,
the tune vividly embodies that sense of tension and struggle, with the
pianist’s most dark-hued solo of the set responding to its roiling, tempestuous
beat.
The mood
is eased by the playful, funky groove of “What Will Be, Will Be,” which echoes
Doris Day’s familiar advice about maintaining a laissez-faire attitude and
letting fate take over. That brisk jaunt gives way to the hushed, introspective
elegant of “Wake Up and Dream,” a solo piano piece that finds Hiromi finally
emerging from her trance, only to stay inside the dream state while wide awake.
Finally, the trio’s handclaps state the valedictory beat of “All’s Well,” an
optimistic conclusion that Hiromi sees as the album’s end credit sequence.
Having
traveled through the varied and wide-ranging stages of Hiromi’s inspiration,
it’s as if she’s pulled the curtain back on her own creative process to reveal
the spark that’s been evident since she first emerged on the scene with her
2003 Telarc debut, Another Mind. Since then, Hiromi has been mentored and praised
by such greats as Ahmad Jamal and Chick Corea while garnering a host of awards
in North America and Japan and forging her own effervescent, instantly
recognizable voice.
“Life is
full of continuous sparks,” concludes Hiromi, whose ten albums certainly bear
out that contention. “It can be anything that you can feel passionate about,
but when that huge spark happens, the story begins.”
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