Hiromi Uehara & the Trio Project - Voice (2011)

Traemos otro disco de la reina japonesa del jazz rock prog. Vamos con la Hiromi del día en una semana a puro Uehara. Aquí acompañada por dos bestias más, con Simon Phillips en la batería (músico de estilos musicales tan diversos que ha tocado heavy metal, rock progresivo y jazz fusión en bandas como Mike Oldfield, Trevor Rabin, Judas Priest, Pete Townshend, Toto, Jeff Beck, Brian Eno, Gary Moore, Mike Rutherford, Phil Manzanera, John Wetton, Asia, Stanley Clarke, Derek Sherinian, Jordan Rudess y Paul Gilbert, entre otros) y con Anthony Jackson (considerado uno de los bajistas más versátiles de la historia del jazz y que tocado con Michel Camilo, Chick Corea, Billy Cobham, Steely Dan, Al Di Meola, Donald Fagen, Roberta Flack, Pat Metheny, Michel Petrucciani, Simon Phillips, Paul Simon y varios más) en el bajo, una base de lujo paraa que las teclas de la japonesita brillen a lo grande. Super trío para un gran disco.

Artista: Hiromi Uehara & the Trio Project

Álbum: Voice
Año: 2011
Género: Jazz rock / Fusión
Duración: 64:16
Nacionalidad: Japón

Lista de Temas:
1. Voice
2. Flashback
3. Now or Never
4. Temptation
5. Labyrinth
6. Desire
7. Haze
8. Delusion
9. Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8, Pathetique

Alineación:
- Hiromi Uehara / piano, keyboards, co-producer
- Anthony Jackson / contrabass
- Simon Phillips / drums

Hiromi es la pequeña gigante del piano, una bestia que se perfila como una de las grandes artistas de todos los tiempos, y aquí dejará su huella. Ahora traemos a "Voice", álbum que saca en el formato del The Trio Project, que es el nombre del trío formado por el bajista Anthony Jackson y el baterista Simon Phillips, el cual hace su debut con este álbum.
En este álbum es notable el enfoque jazz fusión de Jackson combinado con el estilo progresivo de Phillips.

Vamos con algunos comentarios de terceros y al disco, porque ya creo que no hay más adjutivos para comentar ésto...

Esta entrada tenia muchas ganas de ponerla hace tiempo. Lo que pasa es que España no va muy bien, y somos gente como nosotros, la nueva ola la que la tenemos que sacar adelante, y claro, para ello curramos jornadas de 60 horas a la semana por 600 euros. Así va nuestro querido país. Pero bueno, después de este pequeñísimo desahogo aquí os dejo una de esas artistas que es capaz de levantarte el ánimo hasta en los peores días. Es belleza en estado puro, y no me refiero a ella, que también, sino a su piano, que es esencialmente espectacular. Música que llega del alma, que se transmite al corazón y que nos llega de lleno. Temas como “Tom and Jerry Show” o “Clair de Lune” por decir, sólo un par son musicalidad en estado puro. Piano, jazz, fusión de estilos siempre con un ojo puesto en el jazz clásico y un amor tremendo por lo que se hace son las cartas de presentación de esta artista que lleva ya muchos años en escena y de la que tristemente yo supe en Paris. Pero da igual, mejor tarde que nunca, y lo mismo digo por vosotros. si aun no habéis escuchado nada de ella, simplemente os digo que es una de esas esenciales para estas largas noches estivales. Una de esas que te arregla una cena, que te invita a mirar las estrellas disfrutando cada segundo de esas merecidísimas vacaciones y , por supuesto, que te invita a saborear a la persona con la que compartes tu vida. Os dejo en la sección de descargas, totalmente gratuita toda su discografía, para que no os perdáis ni un detalle porque realmente merece la pena. En definitiva, una pequeña gran joyita musical.

Esperanzamar

A diferencia de su último álbum, que fue puro piano solo, su nuevo álbum vuelve sobre el formato trío de piano de “Spiral” y “Another Mind”, aunque en este último eran invitados y el estilo era mucho más intensa. De hecho, Spiral es el álbum que Voice más evoca, a pesar de que no suenan demasiado similar. Debo señalar que “Spiral” es posiblemente mi álbum favorito de ella, y mi canción preferida es “Old Castle”. “Spiral” fue, en su mayor parte, más bien reservado, y muchas de las pistas eran epopeyas de jazz quetenían una lenta construcción. “Voice” no está estructurado del mismo modo, aunque la música sea igualmente reservada en muchos casos.
Este álbum cuenta con una nueva “banda” llamada el Trio Project, aunque como se ha señalado antes, sigue siendo un simple formato de trío de piano. El bajista es el famoso Anthony Jackson, quien trabajó en álbumes de la década del ’70 con Al Di Meola en su trío de fusión. Trabajó con un montón de gente en los últimos años, y de hecho se ha desempeñado en anteriores álbumes de Hiromi, como “Another Mind” y “Brain” (aunque en el antiguo, sólo como invitado). El baterista Simon Phillips es igualmente maravilloso, quien posiblemente sea más conocido por tocar metal antes que jazz. Ha trabajado con Derek Sherinian en bastantes de sus últimos álbumes en solitario, así como incluso él gusta de Judas Priest, en su viejo álbum, “Sin after Sin”. Todavía recuerdo “Diamonds and Rust” de mis días como adolescente, cuando todavía disfrutaba de la NWBHM (Nueva Ola del Heavy Metal Británico). Hiromi, Jackson y Phillips se complementan mutuamente de forma increíble. Hiromi trae su casi “third-stream” finura, Jackson trae puro jazz fusión a través del bajo, y Phillips trae la intensidad de la batería metálica, aunque con la evidente habilidad de alguien que conoce la diferencia entre “Excerpt From the First Movement of Heavy Metal” de Return To Forever y “Hallowed Be Thy Name” de Iron Maiden.
Recomiendo encarecidamente este álbum a todo el mundo. Hiromi, en su propia y maravillosa forma, logra hacer que la fusión de jazz suene casi como rock sinfónico, aunque obviamente no sean ni remotamente similares. Hay rastros de bebop, de puro jazz-fusión, funk, cualquiera sea el infierno que le guste, como pone de manifiesto, pero usted nunca notará la diferencia.
Apunte: este apunte podría decir simplemente “La Pasión, según Hiromi”. Por qué?, me preguntarán ustedes..Bueno, porque Hiromi no se guarda nada. Lo suyo no es la reflexión, lo angular, lo abstracto, los sabios silencios. No. Para nada. Ella es incendiaria, le brota la música por los poros, no deja nada por tocar. Alguno podría pensar “uffff…corre carrera con los dedos..” y no es así. No me da la sensación de que su extremo virtuosismo tape el sentido de la melodía. A ella le importa, y mucho, la melodía. Sus acompañantes, Jackson y Phillips, veteranos power, hacen un encomiable esfuerzo para enmarcar la brillantez de Hiromi. Y como dice la reseña en cada tema se puede escuchar de todo: prog-rock, fusión, funk, jazz. Me ha tocado pasar unos “hard days” estos últimos días, pero Voice me levantó el ánimo.
“…Todas las cosas que se pierden, las tiene en su bolso Dios…” dijo nuestro poeta Luis Alberto; pero Hiromi tiene un bolso mágico de donde sacar todas esas músicas que es capaz de tocar, increíblemente, en un mismo tema
Por último, dedico este post a la memoria de mi hermano, a cuatro meses de su partida. El era un fan de la música de Hiromi y Voice, sin dudas, le hubiera gustado mucho. Espero que a ustedes también.

Preso Ventanilla

Agarrense la peluca porque es un viaje por una montaña rusa muuuuy divertida, vertiginosa, graciosa, en fin, una japonesita fuera de todo esquema y lejos de cualquier otra cosa.
Ahora con los comentarios en inglés de siempre... y no pierdan más tiempo. Yo tampoco.

Vowing audiences worldwide since her début in 2003, Japanese pianist and composer Hiromi Uehara is still in her early thirties. Whether she is de-constructing a classical piece, performing her own compositions or launching into a jazz fusion set with her current Trio Project, the musician consistently displays a dazzling technique and exudes an extraordinary passion for music. Classically trained but also influenced by pop and rock music, the pianist possesses a natural flair when it comes to engaging with the public and going through an emotional roller coaster her audience. Her incredible solo performance at the Marciac Jazz festival in 2010 when she opened for Ahmad Jamal is a case in point.
In 2011, Hiromi initiated her Trio Project with English drummer Simon Phillips and American bass player Anthony Jackson with whom she has recorded two albums to date, Voice (2011) and Move (2012). Simon Phillips has been drumming for rock or heavy metal acts since the mid-1970s while Anthony Jackson (and his custom made six-string bass guitar) is a seasoned jazz and fusion session musician. As a result, Hiromi’s trio music appeals to a much wider audience that goes beyond the traditional jazz circles.
“I don’t want to put a name on my music,” she says. “Other people can put a name on what I do. It’s just the union of what I’ve been listening to and what I’ve been learning. It has some elements of classical music, it has some rock, it has some jazz, but I don’t want to give it a name.” Yamaha Jazz Pianos – Hiromi
“Voice”, the title track of her 2011 recording by the same name is emblematic of the live performances of Hiromi and the Trio Project: a long piece lasting over ten minutes, complex melody lines, a high octane rhythm section and relentless virtuoso soloing to the constant cheers of an enthralled audience.

AboutJazz

This is the Japanese" Limited Edition" pre-release. A big Thank You to "kei" for this, appreciated.I haven't posted her before cause it was always available,This also called--"The Trio PROJECT"
Pianist and composer Hiromi Uehara, whose passionate and incendiary keyboard work has been a shining light on the jazz landscape since her 2003 debut, believes that the voice that never speaks can sometimes be the most powerful of all.
Her newest release, a nine-song trio recording simply titled Voice, expresses a range of human emotions without the aid of a single lyric.
“When I play music, I realize that it really filters emotions,” says Hiromi. “I called this album Voice because I believe that people’s real voices are expressed in their emotions. It’s not something that you really say. It’s more something that you have in your heart. Maybe it’s something you haven’t said yet. Maybe you’re never going to say it. But it’s your true voice. Instrumental music is very similar. We don’t have any words or any lyrics to go with it. It’s the true voice that we don’t really put into words, but we feel it when it’s real.”
Although a mesmerizing instrumentalist in her own right, Hiromi enlists the aid of two equally formidable players for this project – bassist Anthony Jackson (Paul Simon, The O’Jays, Steely Dan, Chick Corea) and drummer Simon Phillips (The Who, Judas Priest, David Gilmour, Jack Bruce). Jackson had previously played on a couple tracks from each of Hiromi’s first two albums – Another Mind in 2003 and Brain in 2004 – but they had never recorded an entire album together. “I’ve always been a huge fan of his bass playing,” she says. “I’ve always liked playing with him, and I was very happy that we finally had the chance to make an entire album together.”
She hadn’t crossed paths with Phillips prior to this project, but he came highly recommended by not only Jackson but also Stanley Clarke, the legendary jazz fusion bassist who gave her a prime spot on his two most recent projects, Jazz in the Garden in 2009 and The Stanley Clarke Band in 2010. “The more music I wrote for this album, the more clearly I heard the sound of Simon on drums,” says Hiromi. “When I told Anthony and Stanley that I was thinking of Simon to play drums for this project, they both encouraged me to ask him, so I did, and I’m so happy with how it turned out. From the first note of the first rehearsal, I was very excited about where we could go with this recording.”
Further in, “Temptation” is relatively understated in comparison to the preceding tracks, but with a solid piano melody that keeps beckoning. The song invites the listener to ponder what happens when we finally give in to that thing we find so seductive and alluring. Hiromi asks: “Is the result of that temptation sweet or bitter?”
“Haze,” the one solo piano track in the entire recording, is just what the title suggests – a shimmering piece whose melodic edges are sometimes sharp and other times undefined. The song suggests “unclear vision, focused then blurry again,” says Hiromi. “There was so much excitement among all three of us when we were recording this record. Even when I was tracking this solo piece, Anthony and Simon were giving me a lot of encouragement about the different takes, what was working and what wasn’t.”
Taken as a whole, the individual tracks on Voice do tell a story, says Hiromi, but she’s quick to note that the story is open-ended and subject to interpretations. “I’m not talking about a story in the sense of a novel,” she says. “People can just listen to it and decide how it reflects their own lives. They can just imagine whatever the music makes them imagine. That’s the beautiful thing about music without words. It’s just a matter of using your imagination, finding your own voice within the music, and traveling with it wherever it takes you.

Jazz in Athens

This good-looking (sorry if it's sexist to say that!) Japanese keyboardist-composer is said to be one of the latest comets in the jazz world. Here she's teamed with a bassist (Anthony Jackson, plays electric bass) and a drummer I believe many of us know: Simon Phillips, who comes entirely from the rock world as far as I know. Also Hiromi uses electric keyboards here and there, and one can sense some rock in the trio's playing. The term power trio has been used. Hiromi herself is a virtuoso with influences both from classical music and prog such as King Crimson and Frank Zappa (according to her artist info page here). Compositions are Hiromi's except the final track which is an adaption of Beethovens' "Pathetique" Piano Sonata.
Maybe I had some trouble digesting this album. Piano trio is definitely one of my favourite things in jazz, and I also enjoy Fusion. But somehow I prefer to keep them separate. I'm used to hear wider choice of instruments in Fusion (guitar, electric violin, trumpet, whatever), and from a piano trio I expect more delicacy and emotion. That is, while I certainly sensed the power and skill in this trio, the music left me rather cold. It's complex, intense, energetic and at times even fiery. I may want to listen to her other albums with other line-ups, but I admit this particular album didn't become one of my favourites from recent years. However I believe many of those PA readers who listen to jazz too, might want to lend an ear.

Matti

This album is great. I like all of Hiromi's albums, but this one, along with her classic album "Time Control", is among the best fusion albums you'll come across this side of the 21st century. Besides the fact that she is a virtuoso pianist, she also knows how to write a tune, catchy melodies, and top that off with some of the best jazz piano playing ever. She does dabble with keyboard sounds on all her albums, this album is no exception. Thing is, don't expect too much, as this is mostly a piano-dominated record, with bass and drums backing her up. But as I said, her piano playing is great, and there are some tracks that are just so beautiful, it may make you cry ;) Cuts like "Temptation" really bring out her soul and contain some gorgeous playing from her.
But this is a fusion album, and the record starts off with the title song, in progressive rock fashion, piano riffs galore. The next track is a reprise of a tune from her other masterpiece album "Time Control", something she's been doing for most of her catalog. So she has the 'rock' mentality for sure, she just doesn't need guitars or keyboard effects to achieve what she needs to. I will admit, I do somewhat miss her quartet that is on Time Control and Beyond Standard, but since this is labeled as a "Trio Project" hopefully they'll return on a future album. Get this album, one of the best modern jazz/fusion albums, and nice to hear such a good album coming out in a year like 2011.

Mike

It's funny because Time Control by Hiromi is part of the best, or most important, album in my life but, although Voce is not in there, it's my favorite album of her. Any album that start with a song like Voice deserve to be listen at least once in the life of a prog/jazz fan because, it's so that, meaning, good prog/jazz music, all in one song. Definitely one of the best piece of music Hiromi wrote.
Then comes Flashback, with this king of Emerson riff that is so well executed that it can't be anything but infectious.
The third track on the album, the funky Now or Never, is the first inclution of synth, Nord Lead 2, and although it's only use in the motif that is heard trought the song, it's not out of place, it hadds to the funkyness of the song.
Temptation is one of the most beautiful ballad Hiromi has wrote, a well deserved break from the crazyness of the first 3 songs. The piano solo in that song is nothing sort but of amazing, full of feeling and really shows how emotional Hiromi can be.
Labyrinth had been previously heard on the Stanley Clark Band album. This version, is not so different for the previous version, but more close to the sound of the overall album.
Desire is another funky track with good use of the synth on the rhythm. I like the way she plays funky grooves with some prog riff trown in and mix it with jazz, another good recipes for good music.
Haze is her required solo piece of the album, she always play a solo piece on her album, but usually at the end. Haze is another amazingly emotional ballad. A very beautiful piece.
Delusion is my favorite track on the album, a perfect piece of music, I love you Hiromi :) and to think that she's only in her 30's wow! So much incredible piece of musc and album are awaiting us fans, in the future.
Beethoven's Piano sonata is a strong way to finish the album after the powerful Delusion. I always liked the Pathetique Sonata by Beethoven, so to hear it played Jazz by Hiromi and her trio, is very cool.
In the end, a must have for Jazz, Jazz Rock/Fusion, prog fan. Nothing under 5, definetly a musical masterpiece of the 21st century.

Etienne Brousseau

It seems improbable that a classical pianist’s chance meeting with Chick Corea could start a young musician on a musical journey that leads to true innovation in Jazz. The latest offering from Hiromi Uehara, ‘Voice’, featuring Anthony Jackson on bass and Simon Phillips on drums proves that this chance meeting was in fact destiny.
With the notable exception of “Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8, Pathetique”, the album exclusively features original compositions by Hiromi; and opens with a deceptive dirge in title track “Voice” before exploding into an energized frenzy of syncopated drumming and deft bass counterpoint. The focus required to keep track of this frenzy almost acts a prepatation guide for the rest of the album as Hiromi believes focus is required to “hear someone’s inner voice”.
Many of her compositions thrust the drums into the dynamic forefront; providing a rock-like feel to much of the album while skillfully maintaining its base in Jazz. This creates the unique opportunity for the drums and to take the melodic lead; which is put to great use throughout the album, most notably in “Labyrinth”. This occasional role switching also contributes a progressive and contemporary feel to the album, and acts as testament to the technical skill on show by the trio.
The sheer dynamic range and passion on display in the album is phenomenal. A special mention must go to Hiromi’s inspired and varied improvisation throughout the album, which draw inspiration from many sources to create a fusion of styles perfectly paired with the rest of her trio. Her solos act as an impromptu heart-to-heart conversation as she guides us through, as Hiromi describes, “the true voice that we don’t really put into words, but that we feel when it’s real.”
There is an oddly enjoyable complexity to the entire album that goes far beyond the constraints and limitations of any single genre or instrument, and could only have come from Hiromi. She delivers an absorbing insight into a musical dialogue through a complex technical proficiency that is delivered with laboratory precision without compromising on the emotion that forms the cornerstone of the album. ‘Voice’ is a shining example of a forward-thinking Jazz album that is enjoyable from beginning to end; and the first to album to receive 5-stars from The Jazz Line.

David La Rosa

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