Hiromi
Live @ European Jazz Expo, Cagliari 24.07.13

THE REVIEW

And so it was that in a little over an hour, the agile, talented, petite, and vigorous mademoiselle Hiromi Uehara from Shizuoka dismantled the impregnable fortress of Gezz Kalaritanae.

Assisted on stage by two genuine prodigies of their respective instruments, the tumultuous Anthony Jackson on electric bass and the tentacular Simon Phillips on percussion, the Japanese pianist of small stature (opening for the eagerly awaited - by others - Brecker Brothers' concert) entertained, moved, captivated, and enthralled the truly large audience packed inside the Music Park of the Sardinian capital.

The performance was essentially focused on the spritely, multifaceted, and often frenetic pieces contained in "Move," the latest addition to an already substantial discography published at the end of 2012, an album that - in passing - marked a clear step forward compared to its immediate predecessors: compositions capable of bringing our agitated performer towards decidedly brilliant, personal, and sparkling shores thanks to a diverse and intriguing approach to the instrument; only in the concluding part was there a single excerpt from the phenomenal debut, "Another World," dating back a decade ago, through the amphetamine-fueled rendition of a sharp version of "Xyz."

Unlike many acclaimed and pompous ivory key sages (and not only) who love to take themselves far too seriously, the thirty-four-year-old from the land of the rising sun seems to genuinely enjoy herself immensely, and this clearly shines through her music, perpetually balancing between fusion, rock, avant-jazz, and classical, a melting pot endowed with a contagious and vital intensity and a marked irony ("Endeavor" is more than an exemplary example) capable of demolishing even the most solid jazz-snob's immune defenses of the most skeptical.

In the inextricable forest of positive notes emanating from the trio, however, there is at least one off-key note to highlight: it seems that little Hiromi is a proud admirer of Dream Theater... but, as most know, you can't have everything in life.