Hiromi

OUT THERE

 Telarc

Charismatic pianist and composer Hiromi releases OUT THERE, a follow-up to 2023’s Sonicwonderland, which we covered on these pages. Her Sonicwonder band returns to render this double LP work, the core of which is its “OUT THERE” four-part suite.  This is Hiromi’s 13^th studio album as she moves increasingly into a jazz-fusion/jazz-funk approach. As she did on the last record, Hiromi is playing electric keyboards and synths while trumpeter Adam O’Farrill uses pedals. Hadrien Feraud is the bassist and Gene Coye is the drummer. Hiromi composed all the pieces. The band has been touring for two years now and is intent on delivering a fun, unpredictably exciting ride.

The album gets off to a roaring start with “XYZ” with O’Farrill’s trumpet blasting over a locomotive rhythm. As Feraud and HIromi launch their solos, the blistering tempo continues. O’Farrill is a master of the ‘out’ as also heard in Mary Halvorson’s Amaryllis as well as other forward-thinking ensembles where he is a member. Here he plays with lightning fluidity, soaring at times, at a pace that would challenge most but not this crew, who bring this runaway train to an explosive, abrupt halt in the finale. The multiple exclamation points in “Yes! Ramen!!” reflect Hiromi’s favorite food in this piece that also moves along briskly and joyfully with an unusual high-pitched, glittering synth solo from the leader while the bass-drum tandem is churning on the bottom.

We do find a ballad with “Pendulum,” the one track featuring a vocalist as HIromi and Michelle Willis collaborated on the lyrics with Willis’s beautiful voice framed by the pianist’s mid-tempo jazz/neo soul arrangement. Willis best known for her collaborations with Becca Stevens and the late David Crosby. Later, Hiromi presents a dazzling solo piano rendition of the same piece. Even if you didn’t know the name of the piece, you’d figure that a balloon was involved listening to Hiromi’s keyboards. Yes, “Balloon Pop” surges with energy and funky groove, not unlike MIles Davis’s hook-filled fare in the ‘80s a a la Tutu. It’s also a showcase for the hip drumming of Coye as well.

The four-part suite opens with the funky strains of “Takin’ Off,” Hiromi’s original, not a cover of Herbie Hancock’s tune of the same name. We have another rapid-fire tempo with O’Farrill surfing above.  Yet she has Hancock, Duke and Grover Washington, Jr. in mind as she conjures ‘70s fusion, especially as it takes root in “Strollin’,” as exemplified by Feraud’s greasy, filthy bassline and O’Farrill playing more in the form of short bursts as opposed to smooth lines, but equally as expressive in this style. Interestingly with the heavy electric bass and Coye’s insistent beats, Hiromi opts for a rambling acoustic piano solo rather than employing electronics. The whole tone shifts dramatically for “Orion,” as the quartet journeys to the cosmic limits, with O’Farrill on muted trumpet and Hiromi largely on acoustic piano. Momentum builds through the bass and drums and a subtle electronic bed on the bottom, before yielding to a blistering, triumphant statement from the trumpeter unmuted. Hiromi follows with a vigorous, highly percussive solo, spurred on by his rhythm mates.”The Quest” plays to a feisty start-stop rhythm with an opening theme that sounds akin to that of Miles in his early ‘60s period. As it evolves, Hiromi is on Rhodes straddling the line between jazz-fusion and prog-rock as the entire ensemble goes into overdrive.

Except for the two versions of “Pendulum,” OUT THERE, the entire album, not just the suite, pulsates with unrelenting energy. It’s a massive uplift. Play it loud and bask in joy.

– Jim Hynes

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