Description
Label Review.
2019 album. Electrifying Japanese pianist/composer.
Our Overview.
Electrifying Japanese pianist/composer Hiromi reflects on a decade of musical growth and evolution on her dazzling second solo piano album. ‘Spectrum’, presents the vibrant panorama of colours in Hiromi’s music. “I see colours when I play music, and I find it interesting that limitless colours emerge from simple black and white keys," Hiromi says of the album. "The concept of this album is ‘colour’ and the idea of the title track ‘Spectrum’ is the following: various colours connect and expand, just like the musical notes.”
When she recorded her solo piano debut, ‘Place to Be’, in 2009, Hiromi was on the eve of her 30th birthday. She realised that the album would offer a snapshot of the chapter just ending, the ways in which her experiences and personal growth had shaped her sound over the course of her 20s. She decided then that she would revisit the solo format at least once a decade, building a sonic portrait of her evolution and artistry.
’Spectrum’ celebrates the maturity and depth that have enriched Hiromi’s composing and playing over the course of her 30s, years in which she’s crisscrossed the globe thrilling audiences and embarked on collaborations with some of jazz’s most inventive artists, including Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Michel Camilo, Anthony Jackson, Simon Phillips, Steve Smith, Akiko Yano and Edmar Castañeda.
As a whole, ‘Spectrum’ is a vibrant tour of the rainbow panorama of Hiromi’s sound; in contrast with ‘Place to Be’ it’s an enthralling encapsulation of her musical maturity. “I feel I’m a little closer to the piano,” Hiromi concludes. “All the pianists that I really respect not only love but are loved by the piano, and that’s the relationship that I would love to build through my life.”