After her first two superb releases ‘Another Mind’ and
‘Brain’, Hiromi hits the ground running with her third, and best, album yet,
‘Spiral’. Comprised entirely of self-penned compositions, her music mixs a
heady brew of various dramatic themes, and places them into a distinctive
kinetic jazz setting.
The lead-off title track begins with a slow build
before crescendoing into a full jazz workout, where the trio gets to flex their
muscle. Possessing a strong bluesy feel, it continues throughout the second
more melancholic number, before hitting a peak on the following piece, which
winningly displays strong percussive flourishes from Martin Valihora.
Outstanding though is Tony Grey, who having more than proven himself both on
Hiromi’s previous two recordings and live on stage, steps up a further gear and
delivers some awesome high-end bass work, that at first adopts a solo guitar
role before returning to its rhythm nature and provides a truly hypnotising
groove.
Penultimate track ‘Love And Laughter’ takes on a nice
swing jazz feel, and stands out as being the piece to play the uninitiated.
Comparisons abound still with her heroes Jamal, Corea and of course Peterson,
but the most present voice here, overwhelmingly is her own; her piano at the
same time driving and elegant, and crucially hitting the mark in both intellectually
and soulfully.
What comes next though completely changes tact;
‘Return Of Kung-Fu World Champion’ energetically leaps into the fray with
Hiromi employing analogue keyboards and electronics to power forward an
exhilarating update on her earlier ‘Kung-Fu World Champion’. Hiromi’s switch to
grand piano midway through too adds a dramatic thrilling touch, with a driving
low-end rhythm, and even if not a fan of the previous incarnation, this new one
is simply stunning and all of the band are on full-throttle, going to show how
not just Hiromi, but all of the band have improved.
‘Spiral’ then is a brilliant work that has so far best
realised Hiromi’s potential (no easy feat). Where brilliance was in spades on
her first two albums, occasionally mis-placed effects and electronics could put
off some listeners. Here however, the balance between the sounds is perfect,
and just as importantly the album flows astonishingly well. If you have to
start with one Hiromi record, make it this one. We can only salivate at the prospect
of her future works.
****
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