Hiromi’s Sonicbloom | 11.14 | Tel Aviv
By Team JamBase Nov 20, 2009 • 4:20 pm PST

Hiromi’s Sonicbloom :: 11.14.09 :: Hangar 11 :: Tel Aviv, Israel
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Japanese exports, of course, can be found all over the world, and Hiromi is no exception. Currently in the midst of a world tour, Hiromi made her lone stop in the Middle East en route to her homeland. Putting all political and ideological persuasions aside, Israel can actually be quite a fun place. In only a few short decades Israel has become a bustling economic and cultural center, with Tel Aviv at its heart. The perilous war-zone that the media often makes it out to be is hardly the reality for most Israelis, especially in Tel Aviv, the city with the country’s most exciting nightlife. It’s no wonder then that this would make for Hiromi’s third trip here.
Inside Hangar 11, one of the few venues that regularly draws international artists, they had just finished wiping the blood off the floor from the previous week’s Opeth concert to replace the mosh pit with rows of chairs for the more ‘formal’ jazz exhibition that was about to take place. A futile gesture given that most of the show found the audience incapable of staying seated. When this cute little morsel of a human being first took the stage, dressed like a doll in her brightly colored dress with a black flower obscured in her hair, smile unremittingly plastered to her face, it was hard to imagine the onslaught of notes and sheer energy that we were about to be drenched in.
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It’s more than just her speed though that makes Hiromi such an amazing musician, it’s her expressive abilities that really make her unique. Her deranged, dissonant improvisations still maintained a high degree of melodic form, giving her playing a kind of thematic aura. In her own arrangement of the Rogers & Hammerstein classic “My Favorite Things,” she filled in the silent abysses that buffered torrents of notes with just one or two delicately placed notes that seem to convey as much if not more than the innumerable notes surrounding them. “My Favorite Things” was also a display of Hiromi’s arrangement skills, as the song evolved from its show tune roots to an upbeat fusion piece with an impetuous drum solo from Brazilian Mauricio Zottarelli.
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With her limited English skills, Hiromi addressed the crowd before dropping into the encore. “I’ve traveled a lot over the years, so I often ask myself where is my place in the world? But when I come here that question disappears from my head. I’ve only been to Israel three times, but when I come here I really feel at home (cue requisite chorus of awwww’s from the audience). This one is dedicated to you. It’s called ‘A Place to Be’.” “A Place to Be” was an uncharacteristically somber, deeply introspective piece that seemed to unveil the very being of Hiromi, as she sat lonely by her piano, though still sporting that great big smile that simply could not be wiped from her face. Soon Sonicbloom dropped right back into a scrumptious groove, inciting everyone to their feet to end the show with a bang.
Often musical-lay people tend to get lost in the complexity of jazz, but even those who are not quite aficionados could enjoy this blend of energetic jazz fusion. With an uncanny mastery of innumerable genres, ghostly, nimble fingers, and a touch of youthful energy, Hiromi is single-handedly taking jazz into the future. With this gal at the helm, Sonicbloom has become one of the most enjoyable and talented jazz acts out there.
Hiromi tour dates available here.
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