Hiromi is an interesting bunch of people. The Japanese keyboardist-bandleader, born Hiromi Uehara in Japan 1979, has become a Grammy-winning artist whose music veers freely from jazz to fusion and even what could be called the ADHD division of “smooth jazz,” with touches of her classical training in the wings. She resists pigeonholing, in terms of her music and her audience — attracting ears not normally inclined to like “real jazz” but enjoy a party and wizardly instrumental play.
Hiromi brings her tight, fusion-eering band Sonicwonder to Campbell Hall on Friday, April 25, making its Santa Barbara debut under the auspices of UCSB Arts & Lectures. The appearance comes amidst a promo tour for the 14th title in her discography, OUT THERE (not to be confused with improvisational jazz patois of “out” jazz, or anything associated with Eric Dolphy’s masterpiece Out to Lunch).
At last year’s Monterey Jazz Festival, the keyboardist — playing primarily her go-to instrument, a grand piano — cheerfully floated to her piano perch on the big stage of the main arena, in a fuzzy bright yellow sleeveless sweater and her customary infectious ear-to-ear grin. From the visual, we might expect music of an easy, breezy nature, but she is a powerful and extroverted musical force to be reckoned with, and her music bursts forth with the virtuosic energy, unison lines, and other Hiromi-esque dynamics.
Sonicwonder’s musical fashion sensibilities mixes the “analog” sources of piano and the artful Arturo O’Farrill’s bold trumpet voice with the decidedly electric character of virtuosic electric bassist Hadrien Feraud and athletic drummer Gene Coye, with occasional synth blasts in the mix. Live, it adds up to a dazzling gymnastic display of chops and intricate song structures, if not always subtle or musical on a deeper level.
The same chemistry bristles to life upon impact on her new OUT THERE, with the pile-driving opening song “XYZ.” Hiromi’s cheeky and reportedly autobiographical tune “Yes! Ramen!!” is another speedy outing, a vaguely hyper-disco-flavored romp which surprises us by taking winking detours into what seems to be a satire of the dubious “Asian riff” trope (used in the hit “Kung Fu Fighting,” Jackie Chan flicks, and Americanized pop culture since the 19th century) and a mood shift into more sophisticated fusion turf. Then comes a return to disco/comic book chinoiserie form.
She manages the clever juggling act of mixing chirpy feel-good melodies with rhythmically intricate inner workings, as heard here on “The Quest” (part of her four-part “OUT THERE” suite) and the Yellowjackets-on-speed number “Balloon Pop.” One could take a 30-second slice out of the main bouncy melody and use it for a Japanese wine spritzer commercial, but watch out — before long, we’re then pummeled by a fiendish syncopation maze and structural plot twists.
Hiromi also thankfully errs on the side of lyricism at times, a side represented by “Pendulum.” The piece appears in two versions on the album, in solo piano mode — the most musical moment on the album — and a glowing vocal variation featuring Michelle Williams as vocalist and co-songwriter.
While we can expect at least token doses of balladry and soft touches at Campbell Hall, Hiromi and co. will mostly ensure that adrenaline aplenty will be pumping in the room. She’s partly making the world safe for fusion again, in a post-fusion way.
See Hiromi’s Sonicwonder on Friday, April 25 at 8 p.m. at UCSB Campbell Hall. https://bit.ly/3Ga0Jwv
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