Composer/Musician Reacts to Hiromi Uehara - Move (REACTION!!!)

Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on 上原ひろみ ザ・トリオ・プロジェクト - 「MOVE」ライヴ・クリップ

[jonathanhenderson]

Since I'm the resident Hiromi fanatic, let me offer this intro to her and her career:

-She studied piano as a child. You can actually see a video on YouTube of her at 15 playing Schumann for her teacher.
-Played on stage with Chick Corea when she was 17, and enrolled in Berklee shortly after. Met Ahmad Jamal while there and was signed to Telarc before she even graduated.
-Starting with her second album she formed her first trio with fellow Berklee alums Tony Grey and Martin Valihora (with some contributions by Anthony Jackson, from her later trio) and released the albums Brain and Spiral.
-After that she added guitarist David Fiuczynski for the album Time Control and Beyond Standard (an album where she covers Standards)
-Finally in 2011 she formed the Trio Project with Anthony Jackson and Simon Phillips. She's recorded 4 albums with them so far: Voice, Move, Alive, and Spark.
-She's also recorded two solo albums, 2009's Place to Be and 2019's Spectrum.
-A fun note about this track: those opening notes are imitating an alarm clock.

You really can't go wrong with anything you choose to listen to from her. Her first trio/quartet were perhaps a little more jazzy/funky, while her later trio is more prog/fusion, but it's splitting hairs. Every musician she's played with has been phenomenal. Tony Grey VS Anthony Jackson? Martin Valihora VS Simon Phillips? Too close to call because all are amazing in their own right.

If you want to check out albums, my top recommendations would probably be: Spiral, Alive, and Time Control. Really, though, I think Hiromi is best heard live, and she has several DVDs that are all worth seeing. Some live recommendation tracks would be (going roughly from oldest to newest): If..., Love & Laughter, Time Out, Dancando no Paraiso (this is actually a staple of her live shows and you can see all of her bands performing it), Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata, and Desire.

For those who've made this this far, thanks for reading my novel. :)

[xhectichectorx]

This was awesome. I've never heard a jazz song outside of, and please have mercy, the jazz flute part from anchorman lol. It was such a fun song and felt so quick. It was great to see the smiles on their faces while they were jamming. Great suggestion and great review.

[nagarjuna]

Of the hundreds if not thousands of music video performances I've watched over the years, this is my all-time favorite hands down! It leaves me awestruck every single time! And it's sheer delight to see a knowledgeable person like yourself discover these phenomenal artists and react so intelligently and favorably to their performance and skills. And I'm thrilled that Hiromi is no longer flying under your radar. I discovered her in 2012, and I've felt supremely blessed ever since.

[akarshrastogi]

This the trio project. Check out her band Sonicbloom (a different quartet), her duet (w Chick corea), and her solo work. All 4 are beautiful, wild and different universes. I love Hiromi.

[MADHIKER]

I love Hiromi! Her fingers are amazing, but so much more I am blown away by what must be going on in her brain!!!

[nclv]

not too long ago you reacted to the band Chon
so fun fact, their guitarist Mario Camarena said that Uehara was one of his favorite artists and one of his biggest inspirations

[rhplus]

Greatest Hiromi's performance. Volcano of energy + great technique. My favorite moment 4:18 when is right hand running and left after a while. I can only repeat after Marta Argerith, "Hiromi you are absolutely great, extraordinary in every way, Thank you. MA" Words of appreciation to Simon. He has never played with such a demanding musician in his long career for sure. A great challenge for the drummer

[robote]

Nice reaction. Great comments all the way through. Wow! Fire, skill, joy, power. Just incredible. Don't know how long the trio has been together but drummer (Simon Phillips) and bassist (Stanley Jackson) have played with each other for years. I didn't get that you knew who the drummer was but Simon Phillips is a legend on the drums. A pro's pro who has played with just a ton of people for like 50 years. He started very young playing as I recall with his father's band in England. Again very thoughtful reaction. Well done.

[jonathanolson]

Man I loved this. This is the stuff musicians eat up! NOM NOM NOM. And yes Bryan, I thought of it as you said it, I LOVE watching musicians enjoying themselves. It actually at times can get me emotional. In the best way. I know that feeling (as i'm sure you do) when you're just jiving with your bandmates, or if you're at a show and the crowd is loud and you just get lost in everything. Ugh I miss it sometimes. What amazing musicianship. Oh and a couple things, that was NOT an accident. Musicians like that don't make mistakes. ;)

And is there a way to fix the backwards videos? As a pianist my brain was losing it watching her do ascending runs and watching her go "down" the keyboard. It wasn't a huge issue before as with guitarists, it just looks like everyone is left handed lol. But with keyboards it really throws things off. Not mad! Still love the videos, just curious if it can be adjusted. :)

[jrsydvls]

metalhead here. I enjoyed every second of it. \m/ I will be checking out more Hiromi and the guys for sure. thank you for this.

[kanametousinabasi]

The Hiromi Trio Project is great, she herself is an amazing composer & player. Definitely check out the live performance of the song 'Alive' whenever you get the chance. She also has a rad feature on the song 'Running Black Water' by Screaming Headless Torsos (which is a band I highly recommended on the Mr. Bungle vid lol)

Also it should be noted that their bassist, Anthony Jackson, definitely has the chops. He's is an immensely talented musician who helped pioneer the 6-string contrabass guitar & is most famous for the bassline in The O'Jays' song 'For The Love of Money' he also has a session career spanning from working with Quincy Jones, Al Di Meola, Chaka Kahn, Buddy Rich, Roberta Flack & more.

If you need some more jazzy fusion piano music I'd recommend: Tigran Hamasyan, Mouse on the Keys, Fox Capture Plan, Jizue, & Pia-no-JaC

[CharlesEMurphy]

I was not expecting an Eye of Agamotto reference! Pretty amazing performances for sure.

[categorille]

damn this was another crazy discovery through your channel !! awesome stuff

How on top of your game you have to be to play this genre of music is astounding. One mistake and goodbye one. Utterly amazing the musicianship.

[cgafken]

Three legendary musicians right there. Both Simon and Anthony have some of the most impressive studio resumes of all time. I would absolutely love to see you react to “Vinnie Colaiuta live at The Baked Potato Pt.1” I dont think there is a better example of a drummer manipulating time feels and also soloing over a vamp in 7/8. Every musician friend I’ve shown it to had their jaw on the floor before the video ends.

[robote]

Massively excellent video. Yeah Hiromi-well you hear all you need to know with her. The bassist and drummer are both legends. Simon Phillps the drummer is one of the most respected and influential drummers on the planet so yeah-cream of the crop all around.

[evert]

Tigran hamasyan - The court jester.
You will not be disappointed.

[The_Horse-leafs_Cabbage]

One of my new personal faves.
She's pretty damn amazing
Thinking back on it, I think I discovered her work at the same time of discovering Cattle Decapitation's work.

[darrellschaan]

I've been a fan of Hiromi's for years, can't get enough of her extraordinary talent and passion

[MHyFavorites]

I've seen this as first piece in a concert, but with Steve Smith instead of Simon Phillips. In the concet it was so clear for me that the start of the piece is mimiking an electronic alam clock. Steve Smith had a much longer solo in the concert - I think it was longer than 5 minutes.
Greate to see them live: Those musicians combine an unbelievable energy with great sensitivity and extreme precision. Hiromi's technical abilities on the piano are estonishing and only matched by very few other jazz pianists.