Hiromis Sonicbloom Live in Con

Wow! Where do I begin?! There's so much amazing stuff happening here!
The concert starts out cool and sophisticated, but you may have to turn it up- for two reasons. Unless it was my player, it sounds as though it was recorded a little low. And secondly, this type of jazz, which I love, being predominantly "fusion" (in this case, a lethal combination of jazz and prog rock), should be played good and loud anyway, due to the peaks and valleys, the intense aggression, as well as gentle subtleties. The compositions here are great, covering a lot of ground.
After awhile the cool, original style (and still the best) "old school" funk/fusion/rock makes way for more powerful intense, rhythmically complex music that's even hard to put a tag on! Sometimes Dave Fiuczynski's fretless guitar might not be for just any one's taste (at first), but on the lower neck of his double neck guitar, he plays amazingly. Later on, Dave uses the fretless much more creatively, and I especially liked it when he made it sound like a "Koto" in one particularly quiet part of the concert. But for the most part, (especially when Dave plays the fretted guitar), or does an incredible solo near the end through a ring modulator, he's superb, as is the rest of the band!
Hiromi? Hiromi is absolutely relentless! Whenever you're pretty certain that the last mind-blowing solo has probably worn her out, plus what the hell is she going to do to keep up after one of the other guy's amazing solos? Well, there she goes again! Building to such intensity, with such physical energy that you think she's going to explode, or scream! Having said that, she'll also play gentle, melodic jazz on acoustic piano, or very cool Fender Rhodes-type grooves on one of her synths. Being a musician all my life, Hiromi reminds me exactly of the type of rare player that, when all the other musicians are just about ready to pass out (at an all-night jam session), she'll be wanting to go for another four or five hours, as though she's just getting warmed up! I don't know Hiromi, but I sure as hell know she lives and breathes, and "is" music!
Of course we've all heard the saying, "she's really good.... for a girl!" Well, in this case, she's really brilliant, for a human being! Period!!

I'm a musician, and Hiromi is one of those gifted few who appears to me to have superhuman ability in this field. Coupled with her completely original approach, she is simply dazzling to watch and hear. Certainly, her performances will not be everyone's cup of tea, but, even if what she achieves does not coincide with your musical tastes, you will be left stunned by the level of her work and wondering what she will achieve next. Mesmerizing and inspiring.

Watched the whole DVD from start to end with my pre-teen piano-playing daughter and we are in awe... Uehara's virtuosity is pretty fierce... her spirited performance is jaw-dropping and her band backed her up very well during those spontaneous improvisational moments from her. Buy it and check out this bad ass do her thing on a Yamaha grand and a Nord Synth. Have fun!