Move – Hiromi [TrackList follows] – Telarc

by | Jan 9, 2013 | Jazz CD Reviews

Move – Hiromi – Telarc TEL-3381402, 69:21 (Distr. by Concord Music) ****:

(Hiromi, piano/keyboards; Anthony Jackson, contrabass guitar; Simon Phillips, drums)

Her previous Telarc CD—Voice—featured this same trio project, but they were rather new to all working together; Hiromi had never recorded a whole album with either one of them. Now, however, some time has passed and the three of them have toured together, doing live shows and building up a library of road-tested tunes. Hiromi wanted to write original tunes especially for them, as Ellington had done for his musicians. This new CD—recording of which went rather quickly—is the result. [Incidentally, we also recently reviewed a DVD of Hiromi’s trio, which reveals that she doesn’t sport that wild hair style when she isn’t performing.]

Hiromi says the overall theme for this session is “time in one day,” in other words, the CD is like a soundtrack for a day. She turns out a lot of music, and none of the tracks here duplicate any of those on either the previous CD or DVD. Hiromi seems to mix various influences of jazz, classical, rock and funk in her music, disregarding the labels. The opening and title track here mimics an alarm going off, starting the day. Other tracks play with tricks of rhythm which Hiromi likes putting into the music. In the center of everything is a suite in three parts titled Suite Escapism: “Reality,” “Fantasy,” and “In Between.”  She says such suites offer her a way to tell a story with the music. The track “11:49 PM” marks the end of the day and closes out the album.

TrackList:

Move, Brand New Day, Endeavor, Rainmaker, Suite Escapism, Margarita!, 11:49 PM

—John Henry

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