Spectrum (Hiromi album)

Spectrum is the eleventh studio album by Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara. The album was released by Telarc in Japan on 18 September 2019,[4] with an international release to follow on 9 October 2019. It is her first solo album in 10 years after Place to Be released in 2009 also by Telarc.[5][6]

Spectrum
Studio album by
Hiromi
Released18 September 2019
RecordedFebruary 20–22, 2019
StudioSkywalker Sound (Lucas Valley, CA)
GenreJazz
Length73:16
LabelTelarc
ProducerHiromi Uehara, Michael Bishop
Hiromi chronology
Spark
(2016)		 Spectrum
(2019)		 Silver Lining Suite
(2021)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
All About Jazz[2]
Jazzwise[3]

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.[7] The title track "Spectrum" was released on YouTube in July 2019.[8] Uehara announced a tour of Europe, USA and Japan to promote the album during October to December 2019.[9] 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.”[7]

Reception

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."[8] Thom Jurek of AllMusic 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".[1] Jim Worsley of All About Jazz 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."[2] Writing for DownBeat, 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."[10]

JazzTimes included the album in its list "The Year in Review: Top 50 Albums of 2019".[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Hiromi Uehara, except for track 5 by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and track 8 by George Gershwin (including interpolations written by Hiromi Uehara, John Coltrane (Blue Train) and Pete Townshend (Behind Blue Eyes) respectively)

No.TitleLength
1."Kaleidoscope"8:06
2."Whiteout"7:33
3."Yellow Wurlitzer Blues"5:40
4."Spectrum"5:04
5."Blackbird"5:21
6."Mr. C.C."6:07
7."Once in a Blue Moon"5:59
8."Rhapsody in Various Shades of Blue"22:45
9."Sepia Effect"6:41
Total length:1:13:16

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] 8

References
  1. Jurek, Thom. "Spectrum - Hiromi | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  2. Worsley, Jim. "Hiromi: Spectrum". All About Jazz. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  3. Robson, Andy (December 2019). "Review Search". Jazzwise. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  4. "Spectrum | 上原ひろみ". Oricon. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  5. Frazier, Preston (7 August 2019). "Hiromi, "Spectrum" from 'Spectrum' (2019): One Track Mind". Something Else!. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  6. "上原ひろみ | Hiromi Uehara - UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN". 上原ひろみ (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  7. Michel, Patrick St (8 October 2019). "Hiromi Uehara drops the band and steps out alone". The Japan Times. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  8. Regen, Jon. "TRACK PREMIERE - Hiromi's "Spectrum"". Keyboard Magazine. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  9. "Jazz Pianist Hiromi's First New Solo Album in 10 Years Due in September". Billboard. Retrieved 30 August 2019. Hiromi Uehara Official Site: Tour. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  10. Lutz, Phillip (5 December 2019). "The Kaleidoscopic Colors of Hiromi's Pianism". DownBeat. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  11. Greenlee, Steve (27 February 2020). "The Year in Review: Top 50 Albums of 2019 - Page 6 of 7". JazzTimes. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  12. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2019-09-30" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
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