artist info

"I don't want to put a name on my music. Other people can put a name on what I do. It's just the union of what I've been listening to and what I've been learning. It has some elements of classical music, it has some rock, it has some jazz, but I don't want to give it a name." ― Hiromi Uehara

All great human passions – whether romantic, creative, inventive, or transformative – begin with a single spark. On her tenth album as a leader, Japanese pianist/composer Hiromi traces the path of the flame ignited by that spark as it consumes and inspires. Over the course of nine expressively charged songs, the listener is carried away on an impassioned spiritual journey that might tell the story of a personal discovery, a love affair, or the creation of the music itself.

Set for release on Telarc, a division of Concord Music Group, Spark showcases the always thrilling sound of Hiromi’s Trio Project with her most narratively sweeping and emotionally overflowing set of music to date. The pianist finds her own spark in her interaction with her triomates of the last five years, contrabass guitarist Anthony Jackson (Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Chick Corea, The O’Jays) and drummer Simon Phillips (The Who, David Gilmour, Judas Priest, Toto, Jack Bruce).

Since forming in 2010, The Trio Project has explored the richness of the inner voice on their 2011 debut, Voice; the dynamic, unceasing motion of time on their 2013 follow-up, Move; and captured the feeling of their electrifying live performances on 2014’s brilliant Alive. With Spark, the trio again exemplifies why DownBeat magazine has called them "one of the most exciting groups working in any genre today,” with the leader’s effusive, heartfelt virtuosity supported by Jackson’s vigorously fluid bass-lines and Phillips’ ability to be simultaneously propulsive and witty behind the kit.