CHIHIRO YAMANAKA — The Spheres: Live In Osaka!! (review)

CHIHIRO YAMANAKA — The Spheres: Live In Osaka!! album cover Live album · 2015 · Post Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
snobb
Everyone in the world knows who Hiromi is - Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara was played with Chick Corea in Tokyo when she was 17 and after graduation in Berklee College in Boston (under Ahmad Jamal) she took the world by storm playing high energy technical fusion influenced by Return To Forever legacy. Hiromi is most probably most popular internationally Japanese jazz artist of today.

Much less people outside of her homeland Japan know who is Chihiro Yamanaka, and it's a shame. She is Beklee graduated pianist who leads her own bands (usually trios as Hiromi does) from early 00's. Chihiro released her first album in 2001, two years prior to Hiromi, and in 2015 came with her first ever live release (and her 18th album at all). Being celebrity of sort in home country, she is relatively unknown in Western world. During last decade some her albums have been reissued in US and Europe though.

The main difference between two is Hiromi is a piano power trio leader,playing technical high energy fusion, oriented first of all on neo jazz-rock fans. She started with playing tuneful contemporary chamber jazz, but it was fusion that made her a true star. Each success has its price - trying to continue once reached success Hiromi for some years changes nothing in her music,which with every her new album becomes moreand more repetitive and predictable.

Chihiro Yamanaka played contemporary jazz for years - not polished anemic European chamber jazz,but groovy American one, closer to good pop-jazz.Her roots are all in bop, and there are no album where this influence isn't obvious. During last some years Chihiro turns more and more towards modern post bop, adding all her pop and rock legacy to it as well.

The Sphere is are electro-acoustic trio with electric bassist Dana Roth and drummer Karen Teperberg. Chihiro herself plays piano and some analog keyboards, their music varies from pop-ballads to chamber tuneful songs to groovy post bop and fusion with analog keyboards passages.

Played live in club in Osaka, all music is playful, shining, tuneful and full of joy.There are no really new things here, but the way how it is played will make you smiling. Nothing is repetitive or boring and that feeling recalls times when jazz was not a demonstration of techniques or ambitions,but the source of fan.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Martin Archer & Walt Shaw : Biyartabiyu Avant-Garde Jazz
MARTIN ARCHER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Meet The Graingers Pop/Art Song/Folk
NATE NAJAR
Buy this album from MMA partners
Full Throttle RnB
GERALD ALBRIGHT
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ancestral Numbers I 21st Century Modern
JASON ROBINSON
Buy this album from MMA partners
Modern Standards Fusion
BILL EVANS (SAX)
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Jean-Pierre (feat. Darryl Jones)
BILL EVANS (SAX)
snobb· 6 hours ago
Magic Box
CHRISTOPHE MARGUET
snobb· 6 hours ago
The Peacocks
ANTOINE DRYE
js· 11 hours ago
??·??·?·???·?·????
SADAO WATANABE
snobb· 1 day ago
"Miles Between" // by Shawn Schlogel & Nancy Erickson Lamont
NANCY ERICKSON LAMONT
js· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed