''Spectrum'' is the eleventh studio album by pianist

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 ...

. The album was released by

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long assoc ...

in Japan on 18 September 2019, with an international release on 9 October 2019. It was her first solo album in 10 years, after '' Place to Be''.

Background

Uehara explains that "The concept of this album is 'color' and the idea of the title track 'Spectrum' is the following: various colors connect and expand, just like the musical notes." She also mentioned that it was her first piano teacher who taught her to understand the instrument via colors. The title track "Spectrum" was released on YouTube in July 2019. Uehara announced a tour of Europe, USA and Japan to promote the album during October to December 2019. Says Uehara "Making a solo piano album, the biggest difference is that it’s only piano and it’s only me. So, I have to be a drummer, I have to be a bass player, I have to be like a multi-instrumentalist, only using the piano.”

Reception

Jon Regen of ''

Keyboard Magazine ''Keyboard'' is a magazine that originally covered electronic keyboard instruments and keyboardists, though with the advent of computer-based recording and audio technology, they have added digital music technology to their regular coverage, in ...

'' 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 Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain (instrumental), Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" ...

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

and

Michel Camilo Michel Camilo (born April 4, 1954) is a Dominican pianist and composer. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work. Background and career Camilo was born into a musical family and as a young child showed aptitude for the accordion ...

." Thom Jurek 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 ...

commented "This 75-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". Jim Worsley 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 ...

'' stated "Remarkable in its scope and vivid in its illustration, Spectrum once again personifies the brilliantly gifted pianist's extraordinary skill set. Feeling and caressing every note empowers her to soar above the clouds and delicately shower her beauty upon us like heavenly drops of rain." Writing for ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'', Phillip Lutz commented, "Few pianists exploit the potential of their instruments with the range of skill and emotion that Hiromi has at her disposal. Even at her most effulgent, she is the most intimate of pianists—an effortlessly charismatic communicator who, through her music, evangelizes for the instrument. And, in making that case, few documents testify more powerfully than ''Spectrum''." ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'' included the album in its list "The Year in Review: Top 50 Albums of 2019".

Track listing

Personnel

– piano

Charts

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2019 albums Hiromi Uehara albums Solo piano jazz albums