Search - Hiromi :: Another Mind

WORKS FOR ME

Baddstuff | astoria, ny United States | 04/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I really have to laugh at some of the negative reviews of Hiromi. Seems like some people just want to put her in a box and say play THIS like THIS. What exactly is the problem with her doing what she's doing? So she might not be a jazz purist, BIG DEAL!! You stuffy types need to get over yourselves already. If she lacks soul or that extra something then give her time, she's still quite young and will only get better. The talent IS there! Does Ahmad Jamal not know a good piano player when he hears one?



If Hiromi wants to add some electronic keys to her sound, let her, it's HER music. I don't think they detract from her sound. There are plenty of artists out there playing pure traditional jazz for the ones who want to walk around with their snobby attitudes. Dennis Chambers is one of the best drummers around and I've heard some people complain that he can't swing. Yeah, and?!?!?!?!



[...]"

Hiromi - Fantastic - Iconoclastic

John Carroll | Riverton, CT | 09/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the artist for whom I have awaited a very long time. Hiromi has brought something exciting and fresh to a type of music that has ossified itself into near irrelevance. Jazz, like classical music before it has been abducted by self appointed musical necrophiliacs proclaiming that the art form

must conform to some rigid 16 bar dogma.





Another Mind was a relevation, and when I discovered that she

would be playing a nearby venue recently, I did not hesitate to

go see her. Her technique is flawless, her playing, highly nuanced. At times her hands moved with such superhuman speed that they became a mere blur, but the music that flowed through them could not have been more crystalline. There is so much youthful vigor and playfulness to her musicianship that it probably scares the bejesus out of the stewed prun crowd.



Each track of "Another Mind" is a gem - starting with a Keith Emerson-ish "XYZ" that even old Speedy himself would be hard pressed to match in it's full throttle energy. The tracks that follow do not disappoint either, exploring a wide range of

styles, including some funky synth work, Blues, Impressionism, '60s San Fransisco, Fusion, Gothic, and even a bit of Art Tatum at the end.



Throughout all there is a strong sense of arch. It's the elegant parabola with which she structures her music and shapes her improvisation which quite distinquishes her playing from the typical trio playing yet again another cover of Autumn Leaves. (I.E. the formulaic - Everyone play the melody of this tired old song everyone else has already played to death, piano solo, bass solo, okay now drums, some fours, play melody again...now rinse and spit.)



That the bold new path Hiromi has set for herself and

her excellent fellow musicians upsets some of the vinylphile dinosaurs is not a suprise. That's the nature of a new

paradigm.



Keep playing your heart (and mind) out Hiromi."

What would you like to know?

Robert Wade Cottingham | Dallas, TX | 12/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"OK, who's reading one more review of a album that has 20 reviews already? Eh? Who are you? You can listen to samples of tracks, you can SEE Hiromi on [...], what can I tell you? I purchased Brain (5 stars), and Another Mind (5 stars) and Spiral (hasn't arrived yet) last week, after seeing Hiromi's videos on [...]. I'll close with adjectives to describe this music: fresh, funny, tight, extremely capable, timely, excellent, informed, energetic, subtle, open, honest, funny, sincere, well-structured, hot, artistic, very listenable and re-listenable, sometimes retro, mostly so fresh. My responses (some of these words are predictable cliches you use whenever you really like something): wow. incredible. hot. nice. wow. this sounds fantastic. this is the finest thing I've heard in a long time. This CD is infinitely better than a Michel Camilo CD I recently bought that sounds EXTREMELY MUNDANE to me. These are the first TELARC CD's I've ever heard with any soul (except Dave Brubeck's solo CD's). I love Hiromi. I can't wait to hear Spiral when it arrives. If she comes to Dallas, I'll be there. Thank you and best wishes."