Hiromi (Uehara) meets Chick Corea by chance during one of his visits to Tokyo when she was 17 and Corea offers her an opportunity to play with him the next day during his concert. This is probably one of the most important steps in the life of this composer and pianist who will go on to achieve many great things in her life. She enrolls in Boston Berklee College of Music in 1999 and Ahmad Jamal becomes her mentor during these years. She releases 11 albums between 2003-2019. She plays with countless musicians during many jazz festivals around the World.
The most memorable concert of Hiromi, who has performed in Turkey many times, is probably the one that took place in the courtyard of Istanbul Archeological Museum with Stanley Clarke Band during Istanbul Jazz Festival. Both the musicians and the listeners persevered under heavy rain fall and experienced that union to the last minute during that concert on the 8th of July 2010. Hiromi kept wiping her piano which was getting wet while she continued to play in her usual energetic fashion. That is, until the canopy covering the stage filled up with water to the brim and almost collapsed…
Let’s cut to the chase and focus on the project that prompted me to write this article. Hiromi (@hiromimusic) brought a project called One Minute Portrait to life in order to support us during these last few months we mostly spent at home. She wrote one-minute long compositions for the musicians who inspire her and recorded remotely with them. She announced this Project on her Instagram page and shared 8 lovely recordings in the past 4 months.
The design for this project belongs to Tomoko Shima (@chichichi321).
Musicians involved in this project: Japanese composer/pianist Hiromi Uehara (1979), American drummer Steve Smith (1954), French composer/pianist Christophe Chassol (1976), American drummer Simon Phillips (1957), French bassist Hadrien Feraud (1984), Italian composer/pianist Stefano Bollani (1972), American bassist Robert Trujillo (1964), Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda (1978), Israeli bassist Avishai Cohen (1970).
The list of concerts Hiromi gave in Turkey:
Stanley Clarke & Hiromi Duo, 26.02.2016, CRR Concert Hall, Istanbul (CRR Jazz February)
Hiromi (Piano, keys), Stanley Clarke (electric bass)
Hiromi Trio Project, 07.11.2015, 21:00, CRR Concert Hall, Istanbul
Hiromi (Piano, keys), Anthony Jackson (double bass, guitar), Simon Phillips (Drums)
Hiromi Trio Project, 22.01.2013, 21:00, İş Towers Hall, Istanbul
Hiromi (Piano, keys), Anthony Jackson (double bass), Simon Phillips (Drums)
The Stanley Clarke Band featuring Hiromi, 08.07.2010, 21:00, Istanbul Archeology Museum’s Courtyard, Istanbul (Istanbul Jazz Festival)
Hiromi (Piano, keys), Ruslan Sirota (Piano), Stanley Clarke (electric bass), Ronald Bruner Jr (Drums)
Hiromi’s Sonicbloom, 06.05.2008, 20:00, CRR Concert Hall, Istanbul
Hiromi (Piano, keys), Tony Grey (Bass), Martin Valihora (Drums)
Hiromi Trio Project, 22.01.2007, 21:00, İsmet İnönü Arts Centre, Izmir
Hiromi (Piano), Anthony Jackson (double bass), Simon Phillips (Drums)
Hiromi, 12.07.2005, 19:00, Boğaziçi University, Garanti Cultural Centre, Ayhan Şahenk Hall, Istanbul (Istanbul Jazz Festival)
Hiromi (Piano), Anthony Philip Grey (double bass), Martin Valihora (Drums)
Hiromi has 11 albums. She released these with 3 different titles; Hiromi, Sonicbloom and The Trio Project.
Hiromi’nin kendine ait 11 albümü bulunmaktadır. Bunları 3 farklı isimlendirmeyle piyasaya sunmuştur; Hiromi, Sonicbloom ve The Trio Project.
Hiromi: Another Mind (2003), Brain (2004), Spiral (2005), Place to Be (2009), Spectrum (2019)
Hiromi’s Sonicbloom: Time Control (2007), Beyond Standard (2008)
The Trio Project: Voice (2011), Move (2012), Alive (2014), Spark (2016)
She has also recorded with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Akiko Yano, Kelly Peterson and Edmar Castaneda.
Chick & Hiromi – Duet (2009) Live at Tokyo Blue Note
The Stanley Clarke Trio (featuring Hiromi and Lenny White) – Jazz in the Garden (2009)
The Stanley Clarke Band – The Stanley Clarke Band (2010)
Akiko Yano and Hiromi – Get Together (2011)
Kelly Peterson – Oscar, With Love (2015)
Akiko Yano and Hiromi – Ramen-na Onnatachi (2017)
Hiromi & Edmar Castaneda – Live in Montreal (2017)
