Title: Marisa Robles, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Iona Brown – Händel, Boieldieu, Dittersdorf, Eberl, Beethoven: Harp Concertos and Variations (1966-1980/2024)
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO
Title: Hiromi Uehara – Another Mind (2003)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
On the back of the CD case is a photo that is basically a heads-up as to what you can expect from this debut album by 23-year-old jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara. She is standing outside wearing a black dress and a strange yellow-and-white wrap. Her face is turned up to the sky, her eyes and mouth closed, her jaw clenched; her arms are held straight down by her sides with her fingers splayed wide. It’s a stance that bespeaks intense energy and a certain defiance. Most of the music contained in the CD seems to have been made in a similar attitude, for better and, occasionally, for worse. Uehara plays with an almost demonic energy and amazing stamina; on a program that consists entirely of original compositions, most of them delivered in a standard piano trio format, she zips from style to style with a sense of urgency that borders at times on the manic. Her propulsive “XYZ” opens the album with churning intensity; “Double Personality” finds her alternating between nearly harmolodic free improvisation and carefully composed modern jazz; “Joy” offers a gentle breath of fresh air before she resumes her headlong musical charge. The album ends with a bonus track, an unaccompanied piano piece called “The Tom and Jerry Show,” which alternates between loopy, Carl Stalling-esque avant-gardism and high-speed ragtime. By the end of this album you’ll be tired, but it’s a good tired. Heaven only knows what her next album will sound like, but the laws of physics would seem to dictate that she’ll have to slow down a bit.
![Hiram Bullock - Late Night Talk (1997) [Japan 2016]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2024/06/13/8f8373f8d57145f4b7445da84500d0ba-6272791782061459898.webp "Hiram Bullock - Late Night Talk (1997) [Japan 2016]")
Title: Hiram Bullock – Late Night Talk (1997) [Japan 2016]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC
Though he passed from cancer in 2008 at the young age of 52, jazz and rock guitarist Hiram Bullock lives on in the music he left behind. A music lover from the start, he played saxophone and bass guitar before claiming his place as a guitarist at the age of 16. He went on to appear on several albums with saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as other artists’ session for record producer Phil Ramone. Mr. Bullock later started the 24th Street Band and the group made three albums. The 24th Street Band made several appearances on “Late Night With David Letterman” whenever Letterman’s keyboardist Paul Shaffer needed a band. Shaffer dubbed them The World’s Most Dangerous Band while Mr. Bullock, himself, earned the nickname “The Barefoot Guitarist”. Those joining Mr. Bullock for the Late Night Talk album include organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, Joe Locke on electric and acoustic vibs, acoustic bassist Ed Howard and Idris Muhammad on drums.
Hiram Bullock claimed that he had never done a “jazz” album before this – which is a debatable proposition depending upon how limiting your definition of jazz is. What counts is that he has come up with a beautiful album, drenched in soul-jazz yet touching upon popular music genres as well. Bullock didn’t have to change much, utilizing his subdued and rock-tinged guitar styles at will, occasionally bursting out in full rock regalia and making tasty use of electronic additives. Bullock has also written some fairly interesting songs – music and lyrics – singing them in a somewhat lusterless voice. There is a nice, literal, mellow cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Creepin’,” which is finally emerging as one of Stevie’s most striking masterpieces of the ’70s, as well as a jaunty cover of Stanley Turrentine’s “Sugar.” His somewhat depoliticized take on David Crosby’s “Long Time Gone” is quite moving, with its reharmonized vamp and atmospheric organ washes. Two-thirds of the rhythm section comes from the heart of ’60s soul-jazz, Dr. Lonnie Smith on Hammond B-3 organ and Idris Muhammad on drums, and Joe Locke contributes a good deal of the jazz flavor on vibes (Ed Howard is on bass). Though made for the Japanese market, this Venus album can be found in good import bins in large U.S. cities.
Title: Hiroshima – The Bridge (2003)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Hiroshima, a group whose music falls between R&B, pop, world music, and jazz, has long had its own niche. The band integrates traditional Japanese instruments into their musical blend and has generally been both commercial and creative within its genre. Few bands have so artfully and appealingly blended pop, R&B, jazz and world music over the past few decades as this East L.A.-bred ensemble, Hiroshima, which enters the new millennium with a set that draws on everything from old-school soul to Les McCann to the Japanese traditions so dear to its heart. Heads Up will no doubt market this as a smooth jazz project, but only a few tracks are middle of the road enough to truly qualify. The best of these, the lilting and inspirational “Believe,” balances Terry Steele’s seductive soul vocals with the exotic touches of bandleader Dan Kuramoto’s breathy alto flute and June Kuramoto’s trademark koto. “Another Wish” also captures the dreamy side of their artistry. That’s part of the secret of Hiroshima’s success; even at their mellowest, there’s still a feast for globally attuned ears. Then when they go funky, as on the horn driven “Shaka Phonk,” there are always June’s glistening strings floating beyond the groove. The disc begins with a tune (“Eternal Phoenix”) that offers a colorful hodgepodge of all their best elements, from ancient chimes and flutes to hypnotic percussion, modern grooving and distant, crunchy fusion guitars. The band has gone through various female lead vocalists but does even better with Terry Steele, who creates appealing updates of classic Isley Brothers and George Benson tunes.
![Hiroshi Fukumura Quintet - Morning Flight (1973) [Japan 2006]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2026/02/22/bm2LWoj.jpg "Hiroshi Fukumura Quintet - Morning Flight (1973) [Japan 2006]")
Title: Hiroshi Fukumura Quintet – Morning Flight (1973) [Japan 2006]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Hiroshi Fukumura is a Japanese jazz trombonist. He played with Sadao Watanabe for much of the 1970s, excepting a period where he studied in the United States at the New England Conservatory of Music. Fukumura led his own quintet, which included Shigeharu Mukai as a sideman, for this studio recording and a live release in 1973. He also was a member of Native Son and also worked with Takehiro Honda, Gil Evans, Hidefumi Toki, and others.
Recorded in 1973, “Morning Flight” by trombonist Hiroshi Fukumura is a stunning modal and spiritual jazz album! Genius work from Japanese trombonist Hiroshi Fukumura – working here at the helm of a twin-trombone group that also features the talents of Shigeharu Mukai – in a style that’s filled with soul and free-thinking imagination! The two players work together beautifully here – avoiding any of the cliches of trombone-heavy groups from the past – and instead, using the open-ended Three Blind Mice label format to explore new ideas in jazz by hitting a spare, sensitive space that’s really great. Sometimes tracks really take off and soar with the sort of inventiveness we’d expect from Slide Hampton at the time – at others, they work together more quietly to use the trombones as great shifters of sound and color.
![Hiromi - Voice (2011) [Japanese SHM-SACD Reissue 2012]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2026/02/22/6gMLuTP.jpg "Hiromi - Voice (2011) [Japanese SHM-SACD Reissue 2012]")
Title: Hiromi – Voice (2011) [Japanese SHM-SACD Reissue 2012]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Pianist and composer Hiromi Uehara, whose passionate and incendiary keyboard work has been a shining light on the jazz landscape since her 2003 debut, believes that the voice that never speaks can sometimes be the most powerful of all. This recording, simply titled Voice, expresses a range of human emotions without the aid of a single lyric. Although 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) and drummer Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who, Judas Priest, David Gilmour, Jack Bruce). Jackson 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. “I’ve always been a huge fan of his bass playing”, Hiromi says. “I’ve always liked playing with him, and I was very happy that we finally had the chance to make an entire album together”.
Some jazz musicians aren’t documented nearly as much as they should be; one could write a book about all the talented improvisers who made it to 60 or 65 without ever recording an album, or even being featured as a sideman on someone else’s album. But Hiromi, thankfully, has been recording frequently ever since she emerged in the early 2000s, and she has been wise enough to record in a variety of settings. Hiromi has recorded unaccompanied, as well as in duos and trios; she has played in both electric groups and acoustic groups, and she has provided straight-ahead post-bop as well as fusion. Voice is best described as an electro-acoustic effort that is more post-bop than fusion but has its rock-influenced moments. Forming a trio with Anthony Jackson on electric bass and Simon Phillips on drums, Hiromi is heard on both acoustic piano and electric keyboards but pays more attention to the former. And while this 2010 recording may not be ideal from the perspective of a rigid jazz purist or a bop snob, Hiromi’s outlook is very much the outlook of a jazz improviser; the fact that she, Jackson, and Phillips bring some rock muscle to some of the material doesn’t negate that. Hiromi is undeniably imaginative on an intriguing performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minus, Opus 13, aka Sonata Pathétique, which goes back to 1798. Or course, there was no jazz in Beethoven’s time; if one agrees that jazz started when cornetist Buddy Bolden formed his first band in New Orleans in 1895, then jazz was a little over 100 years away from being created when Beethoven composed Sonata Pathétique. But Hiromi has no problem bringing Beethoven’s piece into the jazz world of the 21st century; she is no less an improviser on Sonata Pathétique than she is on free-spirited originals such as “Labyrinth,” “Flashback,” “Delusion,” and “Now or Never.” The Hiromi/Jackson/Phillips trio might display more rock muscle on some tracks than they do on others, but rock muscle or not, this 66-minute disc never loses its jazz mentality. Voice is yet another absorbing effort from this capricious acoustic pianist/electric keyboardist.
![Hiromi - Move (2012) [Japanese SHM-SACD]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2026/02/22/O7ACtrC.jpg "Hiromi - Move (2012) [Japanese SHM-SACD]")
Title: Hiromi – Move (2012) [Japanese SHM-SACD]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
For her latest Telarc release, the acclaimed pianist/composer has formed one of the greatest trios ever assembled. Hiromi is joined by contra-bass guitarist Anthony Jackson (Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Chick Corea) and drummer Simon Phillips (The Who, Jack Bruce, Toto). Move features nine original Hiromi compositions that expose the beauty and technique of each musician. Absolutely thrilling.
Move is Hiromi’s second “Trio Project” recording with electric bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips, and is a worthy follow-up to 2011’s Voice. The pianist/composer defines the compositions on Move as mirroring an average day, starting with the title track, a choppy excursion that finds the trio connecting through a maze of twists and turns. “Brand New Day” is smoother than the previous track but doesn’t lose any of the energy. Hiromi switches between piano and an analog synthesizer on “Endeavor,” which, unfortunately, sounds like a novelty and cheapens the otherwise enjoyable composition. “Rainmaker” glides between fusion and post-bop. “Margarita!” is fun party funk. The final track, “11:49 PM,” brings the day, and this very satisfying session, to its conclusion.
Title: Hiromi – Spiral (2005)
Genre: Jazz, Fusion
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC
Hiromi Uehara (上原ひろみ), known as Hiromi, is a jazz composer and pianist born in Hamamatsu, Japan. She is known for her virtuosic technique, energetic live performances and blend of musical genres such as post-bop, progressive rock, classical and fusion in her compositions.
With the release of Spiral, the award-winning pianist/composer Hiromi Uehara stands at the threshold of limitless possibility. Her third trio recording in as many years finds her in the familiar company of drummer Martin Valihora and bass player Tony Grey, but the CD itself goes beyond expectations. It features all original compositions, including the 28-minute”Music for a Three-Piece Orchestra,” a suite of four tracks – “Open Door/Tuning/Prologue,” “Déjà Vu,” “Reverse,” and “Edge” – that spotlight Hiromi’s formidable technique and impressive compositional skills. The suite was inspired by Hiromi’s desire to expand the sound of her trio into orchestral spaces and to give her listeners an intense listening experience. By contrast, the highly energetic “Return of Kung-Fu World Champion” captures the essence of the trio in a smaller, jazz-rock fusion format that kicks with the same excitement as a martial arts tournament. The title track “Spiral” alternates between improvisation and carefully crafted jazz elements, while the delicate comping chords heard on “Love and Laughter” are a sure indication of jazz giant Ahmad Jamal’s positive influence as a mentor. Both songs beautifully captivate and induce your imagination to spiral toward the trio’s interplay, flurry of notes, and aural qualities. Overall, Spiral exceeds the standards set by Hiromi’s previous releases, Another Mind and Brain, and should garner her a wider audience. [This Hybrid Disc edition features discreet, multi-channel surround in addition to both standard stereo and SACD-stereo playback].
![Hiromi - Spectrum (2019) [Japanese SHM-SACD]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2026/02/22/dM1pYDz.jpg "Hiromi - Spectrum (2019) [Japanese SHM-SACD]")
Title: Hiromi – Spectrum (2019) [Japanese SHM-SACD]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Spectrum is the eleventh studio album by Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara. Jon Regen of Keyboard Magazine said “Ten years after the release of her solo piano debut, Place to Be in 2009, Hiromi goes it alone once again on Spectrum. The album celebrates the maturity and depth that have enriched her music in recent years, during her collaborations with artists like Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Michel Camilo”.
Since making her recorded debut in the 1990s, Hiromi Uehara has established herself as one of the most gifted jazz pianists of her generation. She issued Spectrum on the eve of her fortieth birthday as an overview of what she learned as a musician in her thirties. It’s the second time she’s done this; her debut solo offering, Place to Be, in 2009 that surveyed her twenties. Hiromi conjures up the same power and creative facility solo as she does with her Trio Project (bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips). Spectrum addresses a guiding notion imposed by her piano teacher: that she quite literally envision prismatic color through music. Set-opener “Kaleidoscope” commences with a sequence of single notes played in an angular pattern that gives way to episodic multiples in staggered and syncopated sequences – a bit like Philip Glass’ piano cadences in Einstein on the Beach – and she adds and subtracts while layering fleet and forceful dynamics and spiraling arpeggios across, under, and atop her chordal syntax; they emerge, dissipate, and evolve into new ones throughout. You can hear everyone from Bach and Scarlatti to Art Tatum and Chick Corea in this workout. The physically demanding title track builds on a similar idea, although modal and contrapuntal acrobatics chase one another at high speeds with only expansive, chordal interludes offering respite, and then only briefly. But speed and dexterity aren’t the only things on offer. Her ballads, including “Whiteout,” offer an elegant lyricism that touches on Beethoven and Ravel as well as Scott Joplin and Errol Garner. It aches with emotion and the hint of a smile in its improvisational moments. “Yellow Wurlitzer Blues” reflects the harmonic invention of Thelonious Monk if he were a stride blues pianist. Hiromi’s sense of improvisational lightheartedness is stacked in punchy grooves in turnarounds with deft scalar feints for good measure. She offers a wonderfully inventive take on ragtime in “Mr. C.C.,” an homage to the original king of comedy (and composer) Charlie Chaplin, with a crescendo worthy of his “City Lights.” At 22 minutes, “Rhapsody in Various Shades of Blue” is not only the longest cut here, it’s the most mind-blowing. Of course it uses George Gershwin’s iconic composition as the recurrent theme and jumping-off point for integrating jazz (including John Coltrane’s “Blue Train”), vintage American song, contemporary improvisation, blues, and pop – Hiromi grafts Gershwin onto the Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes” inside this labyrinthian suite, then returns to the source – with canny improvised embellishments along the way, illustrating not only several shades of the color blue, but a panoramic vision of these composers. This 74-minute recital portrays the nearly spiritual command Hiromi has of her instrument and its various languages to extend her astonishing technical facility. More than this, however, it underscores the visionary, authoritative place her pianism commands in modern jazz.
![Hiromi Iwasaki - Pandora's Box (1978) [Japan 2020]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2024/03/12/008ad7f1.jpg "Hiromi Iwasaki - Pandora's Box (1978) [Japan 2020]")
Title: Hiromi Iwasaki – Pandora’s Box (1978) [Japan 2020]
Genre: Disco
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC
Hiromi Iwasaki (岩崎 宏美) is a Japanese female singer who debuted in 1975. In 1981 she was awarded the Silver Prize at the Tokyo Music Festival. Pandora’s Box (パンドラの小箱, Pandora No Kobako) is her seventh studio album. It contains her most immediately recognizable hit song, “シンデレラ・ハネムーン” — “Cinderella Honeymoon” (1978) has been such a consistent feature of monomane talent Korokke’s routines, Hiromi Iwasaki has commented that when the intro played in concerts, fans would laugh, so she has ceremonially “gifted” that song to Korokke, whose performance has elongated both their careers.
Customer’s review: What an unexpected gem. Music taste is very personal, but I’d like to think that anyone with an appreciation for jpop or classic Japanese 80s and 90s music would love this. The tracks all have something slightly different to offer, in a chill way. The funk and soul definitely come through in the more upbeat fast tracks, but they’re accompanied by slow romantic ones too. The variety works in this albums favor for sure. The Surround mix is surprisingly good. They play with some drums and backing instruments/singers behind you, spin the lead vocals around in a couple songs, and gently envelop the room with harmonies when appropriate.