Recording of the Week, Hiromi - Sonicwonderland

When Hiromi Uehara performed at the BBC Proms back in the Summer of 2017, it’s safe to say that no one could tell what to expect. Known for the ferocious velocity of her dazzling showstoppers, a brief appearance from the Japanese piano virtuoso was guaranteed to raise some titters amongst the strait-laced audience inside the Royal Albert Hall. And yet, what she accomplished over the course of the next six minutes would confidently put her on the mainstream radar for good. Her task: a rendition of the classic Gershwin standard, ‘I Got Rhythm’. But what Hiromi delivered — a boogilicious rhapsody almost chronicling the history of jazz piano itself in one fell swoop (all the while with her signature grin and a look of ecstasy ingrained on her face) — was received with thunderous applause and extensive ovations from the five-thousand strong crowd.

A tutee of that late sorcerer of the keys, Ahmad Jamal, Hiromi is no stranger to crafting jaw-dropping moments such as this. In fact, she’s been at it for over twenty years, having emerged with her debut album in 2003 before quickly going on to become one of the most characteristic international jazz artists today. With a distinctive language all of her own, as a performer she is well-versed in musical code-switching and has the ability to break out into any particular voice at the drop of a hat (just witness her superhuman interpretation of Pachelbel’s Canon if you don’t believe us) and on her new album, Sonicwonderland, she appears to be flexing that same muscle with an unflagging conviction.

Whilst she has established herself at the head of several distinguished lineups (though none probably more notable than her career as a solo performer), the band we hear at this moment in time are relatively fresh, having only just formed in the Spring of this year. No stranger to the oft-perplexing demands of jazz fusion, Hiromi has always sought to expand her palette sky-high. Having assembled to record on the Sound Stage at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch in May, surely there must have been a certain space-bound nod in regards to the musical proceedings about to go down?

Despite their relative juvenescence, the ensemble are as ingenious as any of Hiromi's other projects. Opener ‘Wanted’ is a warm and bouncy welcome supported by a jovial backbeat. Its wonderfully pompous stride kicks things off nicely, introducing each member of the band on their own terms with plenty of recognisable trademarks from each idiosyncratic player still to come. Having dispensed with the pleasantries, we are launched at over twice the speed straight inside the console of her novel ‘Sonicwonderland’ – part video-game, part theme-park ride, but totally Hiromi! With its head derived from Monk’s own hand on ‘I Mean You’ (a firm favourite composer-pianist amongst her other influences), its virtuosic displays of nimble dynamism on all fronts confirms that this ensemble haven’t just come together in order to muck around. The astonishingly reliable slap-bass accompaniment of Hadrien Feraud is no mean feat, either; he’s given further room to show off his funky chops on the cosmic ‘Go Go’.

‘Up’ features some of the strongest piano-work on the album from Hiromi, whose tuneful zest is never made bitter but always remains fresh and intact. There is a strong thematic link to the now-retro sounds of Yellow Magic Orchestra, which, since the recent passing of iconoclast Ryuichi Sakamoto, we sincerely crave. This vintage motif is never treated as a gimmick, however, but with a track like the sonically glitch-ridden ‘Trial and error’ is handled with sensibly intelligent poise.

Hiromi has said that with this new album, she wishes to embrace her pre-existing audience as well as new listeners who are only discovering her work for the first time. As one of the converted, I’m thrilled to be coming along still for the ride.