''Beyond Standard'' is an album by

Hiromi Uehara , often known mononymously as Hiromi, is a Grammy Award winning Japanese jazz composer and pianist. She is known for her virtuosic technique, energetic live performances and blending of musical genres such as stride, post-bop, progressive rock ...

’s group, Hiromi’s Sonicbloom. Contrasted with her previous albums that featured mostly original compositions, this one is a collection of Jazz standards played in a fusion style.

Reception

Chris Jones of

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

stated "With her usual trio now bumped up by the presence of guitarist David Fiuczynski (in their 'Sonicbloom' format), Hiromi Uehara continues the work of her previous album, ''

Time Control A time control is a mechanism in the tournament play of almost all two-player board games so that each round of the match can finish in a timely way and the tournament can proceed. For turn-based games such as chess, shogi or go, time cont ...

'', but this time it's cover versions all the way. The precocious pianist is undeniably, stunningly talented and though her brand of flash ivory tickling is jaw-dropping to behold it's often a little hard to process in digital form." Jeff Winbush of ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'' noted "This is not just a ''good'' album; it's a ''fun'' album. The absolute nuttiness, yet undeniable proficiency and technique on display on tracks like "I've Got Rhythm" and "Claire De Lune" serve as cheerful additions to Uehara's efforts on ''Beyond Standard''. At some point in her career, Hiromi Uehara may mail it in and make a half-hearted or lousy record. But so far she's five-for-five in producing music that is unfailingly brilliant, innovative, radiant and clever. Hiromi's Sonicbloom is a shot of adrenalin for tired musical tastes." Hal Horowitz of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

added "It's a classy, impressive set that displays Hiromi's obvious talents on keyboards, but also her commendable ability to integrate solos into the band format without losing the thread of the original song's structure. Co-billing her talented Sonicbloom musicians is well earned, since they are nearly as much a part of this album's success as its star".

Track listing

# Intro: Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise (Hiromi Uehara) (0:28) # Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise (Sigmund Romberg) (7:29) # Clair de Lune (Claude Debussy) (7:25) #

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(Duke Ellington / Juan Tizol) (8:49) # Ue Wo Muite Aruko (Hachidai Nakamura) (8:42) # My Favorite Things (Richard Rodgers) (7:48) # Led Boots (Max Middleton) (6:33) # XYG (H. Uehara) (6:32) # I've Got Rhythm (George Gershwin) (5:51) # Return Of Kung Fu World Champion (Hiromi Uehara) (10:18) (Japanese Edition Bonus Track)

Personnel

- Piano * David Fiuczynski - Guitar * Tony Grey - Bass * Martin Valihora - Drums

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2008 albums Hiromi Uehara albums