Hiromi Uehara

Hiromi Uehara (上原ひろみ, born 26 March 1979), 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. Hiromi started learning classical piano at age six. She was introduced to jazz by her piano teacher Noriko Hakita when she was eight. At 14, she played with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. When she was 17, she met Chick Corea by chance in Tokyo, and was invited to play with him at his concert the next day. After being a jingle writer for a few years for Japanese companies such as Nissan, she enrolled to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. There, she was mentored by Ahmad Jamal and had already signed with jazz label Telarc before her graduation. Since her debut in 2003, Hiromi has toured the world and appeared in numerous jazz festivals. She performed live at the Newport Jazz Festival on August 8, 2009, and at the Paris Olympia in Paris on April 13, 2010, and toured in the summer of 2010 with the Stanley Clarke Band. Hiromi's trio initially consisted of bassist Mitch Cohn and drummer Dave DiCenso. In 2004, she recorded her second album Brain with fellow Berklee alumni bassist Tony Grey and drummer Martin Valihora and has been recording and touring with them ever since. Bassist Anthony Jackson was guest artist on two Brain tracks and is featured on her 2011 album Voice. On October 19, 2006, the trio added guitarist David Fiuczynski in a performance at the Jazz Factory in Louisville, Kentucky. He is also featured in the albums Time Control and Beyond Standard, and is currently touring with the group. Due to Fiuczynski's teaching commitments at Berklee College of Music, guitarist John Shannon performs with the group when Fiuczynski is unavailable. Drummer Mauricio Zottarelli joined Hiromi's Sonicbloom for the 2009 tour.