Hiromi - Voice [CD]

Pianist and composer Hiromi Uehara's passionate and incendiary keyboard work has been a shining light on the jazz landscape since her 2003 debut. This nine-song trio recording, featuring bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips, expresses a whole range of human emotions but without the aid of a single lyric. <p>A mesmerizing instrumentalist in her own right, Hiromi enlists the aid of two equally formidable players for this project. Bassist Anthony Jackson (Paul Simon, The O'Jays, Steely Dan, Chick Corea) had previously played on a couple tracks from each of Hiromi's first two albums - Another Mind in 2003 and Brain in 2004 - but they had never recorded an entire album together. Drummer Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who, Judas Priest, David Gilmour, Jack Bruce) came highly recommended by Stanley Clarke, the legendary jazz fusion bassist who gave her a prime spot on his two most recent projects, Jazz in the Garden in 2009 and The Stanley Clarke Band in 2010.</p> <p>The trio performs eight of Hiromi's original compositions plus her arrangement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.8. The album is completed with 'Haze', a solo piano track which is just what the title suggests - a shimmering piece whose melodic edges are sometimes sharp and other times undefined.</p> <p>Personnel: Hiromi (piano, keyboards), Anthony Jackson ( contrabass guitar), Simon Phillips (drums)</p>