Composer/Musician Reacts to Hiromi Uehara - Move (REACTION!!!)

Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on 上原ひろみ ザ・トリオ・プロジェクト - 「MOVE」ライヴ・クリップ
ORIGINAL VIDEO: • 上原ひろみ ザ・トリオ・プロジェクト - 「...
Patreon: www.patreon.com/criticalreactions
Twitter: critreactions

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

Since I'm the resident Hiromi fanatic, let me offer this intro to her and her career: -She studied piano as a child. You can actually see a video on KZbin of her at 15 playing Schumann for her teacher. -Played on stage with Chick Corea when she was 17, and enrolled in Berklee shortly after. Met Ahmad Jamal while there and was signed to Telarc before she even graduated. -Starting with her second album she formed her first trio with fellow Berklee alums Tony Grey and Martin Valihora (with some contributions by Anthony Jackson, from her later trio) and released the albums Brain and Spiral. -After that she added guitarist David Fiuczynski for the album Time Control and Beyond Standard (an album where she covers Standards) -Finally in 2011 she formed the Trio Project with Anthony Jackson and Simon Phillips. She's recorded 4 albums with them so far: Voice, Move, Alive, and Spark. -She's also recorded two solo albums, 2009's Place to Be and 2019's Spectrum. -A fun note about this track: those opening notes are imitating an alarm clock. You really can't go wrong with anything you choose to listen to from her. Her first trio/quartet were perhaps a little more jazzy/funky, while her later trio is more prog/fusion, but it's splitting hairs. Every musician she's played with has been phenomenal. Tony Grey VS Anthony Jackson? Martin Valihora VS Simon Phillips? Too close to call because all are amazing in their own right. If you want to check out albums, my top recommendations would probably be: Spiral, Alive, and Time Control. Really, though, I think Hiromi is best heard live, and she has several DVDs that are all worth seeing. Some live recommendation tracks would be (going roughly from oldest to newest): If..., Love & Laughter, Time Out, Dancando no Paraiso (this is actually a staple of her live shows and you can see all of her bands performing it), Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata, and Desire. For those who've made this this far, thanks for reading my novel. :)

[@1972Diogenes]

Hey Jonathan, I really want to thank you and Critical Reactions for this one. What a treasure ! I already checked some of her other stuff and it's right up my alley. Quiet blown away from her solo-work. I used to listen a lot to jazz like Coltrane, Davis, David Ware, Cecil Taylor, some John Zorn. Then got more into classical stuff. But man, right now I feel like a little kid with a new toy.... What joyful, sparkling music this amazing woman creates....And still so much to discover. Thank you very much.

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

@@1972Diogenes You're very welcome. My listening has been all over the map too, so I understand how easy it is to miss great artists. :)

[@jerod256]

She's pretty remarkable. A true virtuoso. I love the Japanese style spin on jazz. (admittedly my only reference point for Japanese music is Final Fantasy lol)

[@hackandslash873]

Old Castle by the River in the Middle of the Forest is my favourite Hiromi track. Saw her play a duet of this with Stanley Clarke on double bass once live, blew my mind.

[@deepthought9906]

Heared she also played Hyper Olympic as a todler!!1!!

[@MADHIKER777]

I love Hiromi! Her fingers are amazing, but so much more I am blown away by what must be going on in her brain!!!

[@1953nagarjuna]

Of the hundreds if not thousands of music video performances I've watched over the years, this is my all-time favorite hands down! It leaves me awestruck every single time! And it's sheer delight to see a knowledgeable person like yourself discover these phenomenal artists and react so intelligently and favorably to their performance and skills. And I'm thrilled that Hiromi is no longer flying under your radar. I discovered her in 2012, and I've felt supremely blessed ever since.

How on top of your game you have to be to play this genre of music is astounding. One mistake and goodbye one. Utterly amazing the musicianship.

[@xhectichectorx]

This was awesome. I've never heard a jazz song outside of, and please have mercy, the jazz flute part from anchorman lol. It was such a fun song and felt so quick. It was great to see the smiles on their faces while they were jamming. Great suggestion and great review.

[@akarshrastogi3682]

This the trio project. Check out her band Sonicbloom (a different quartet), her duet (w Chick corea), and her solo work. All 4 are beautiful, wild and different universes. I love Hiromi.

[@nclv4965]

not too long ago you reacted to the band Chon so fun fact, their guitarist Mario Camarena said that Uehara was one of his favorite artists and one of his biggest inspirations

[@PhoenixDecim]

You can definitely see that inspiration in his writing too.

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

Funnily enough, I think it was on the Chon video that I first recommended Hiromi because it reminded me of her. I didn't know that she was a direct influence on them, so it's cool that I wasn't just hearing things. :)

[@jrsydvls95]

metalhead here. I enjoyed every second of it. \m/ I will be checking out more Hiromi and the guys for sure. thank you for this.

[@barnabascsenki513]

If U havent checked out Hiromi's sonicbloom XYG live yet.

[@robote7679]

Nice reaction. Great comments all the way through. Wow! Fire, skill, joy, power. Just incredible. Don't know how long the trio has been together but drummer (Simon Phillips) and bassist (Stanley Jackson) have played with each other for years. I didn't get that you knew who the drummer was but Simon Phillips is a legend on the drums. A pro's pro who has played with just a ton of people for like 50 years. He started very young playing as I recall with his father's band in England. Again very thoughtful reaction. Well done.

[@robote7679]

My bad. Anthony Jackson on bass. Sorry Mr. Jackson.

[@CharlesEMurphy]

I was not expecting an Eye of Agamotto reference! Pretty amazing performances for sure.

[@categorille8330]

damn this was another crazy discovery through your channel !! awesome stuff

[@55rhplus]

Greatest Hiromi's performance. Volcano of energy + great technique. My favorite moment 4:18 when is right hand running and left after a while. I can only repeat after Marta Argerith, "Hiromi you are absolutely great, extraordinary in every way, Thank you. MA" Words of appreciation to Simon. He has never played with such a demanding musician in his long career for sure. A great challenge for the drummer

[@u.v.s.5583]

Hiromi indeed never disappoints.

[@AlexTapisevic]

My hands and finger would hurt so bad by playing the piano like that just for one minute.

[@jonathanolson1185]

Man I loved this. This is the stuff musicians eat up! NOM NOM NOM. And yes Bryan, I thought of it as you said it, I LOVE watching musicians enjoying themselves. It actually at times can get me emotional. In the best way. I know that feeling (as i'm sure you do) when you're just jiving with your bandmates, or if you're at a show and the crowd is loud and you just get lost in everything. Ugh I miss it sometimes. What amazing musicianship. Oh and a couple things, that was NOT an accident. Musicians like that don't make mistakes. ;) And is there a way to fix the backwards videos? As a pianist my brain was losing it watching her do ascending runs and watching her go "down" the keyboard. It wasn't a huge issue before as with guitarists, it just looks like everyone is left handed lol. But with keyboards it really throws things off. Not mad! Still love the videos, just curious if it can be adjusted. :)

[@CriticalReactions]

Falling into the music and enjoying the crowd's energy is something I miss about performing. The backwards-ness messed me up too, which is why I had to rewind and figure that out in the analysis portion. But that's why I leave the link to the original video in the description so that other's can watch it un-cropped, un-mirrored if they wish.

[@evert7271]

Tigran hamasyan - The court jester. You will not be disappointed.

[@ibrahimutant]

I've been pushing him to listen to Tigran for ages! Court Jester is great!

[@evert7271]

@@ibrahimutant Yeah , Tigran is one of a kind musician. Bet he would like every sonf of Mockroot album.

[@ibrahimutant]

100%

[@Ryan-vh9bw]

For something along those lines, you could also check out Shwesmo. I think their bio describes them best: "If Skrillex and Meshuggah had a baby, and Tigran Hamasyan was the godfather." kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKLXlHR8nqytoZo

[@ninozummo6165]

Fenomeno rarissimo grande musica

[@wellteazm]

Hiromi is absolute 🔥🔥🔥 a phenomenal musician & entertainer!👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

[@---wd3hp]

The most appropriate terminology of the syncopation is upbeat, rather than backbeat or offbeat- terms that tend to mystify what is simply the other side of a downbeat. All 3 musicians are legendary in their own right. I am fine without a bass solo on this and Jackson's body of work has plenty of evidence of chops. He is not new on the scene. The compositions are heavily composed by Hiromi with this group. Her composition leads the improvisation, not the other way around. If it sounds arbitrary to those unfamiar, it is actually highly structured as you can imagine from its complexity. The bands pieces are highly rehearsed which informs their already world class musical intuition. While Phillips is a killer bandleader in his own right, this is Hiromi's vision and she wisely allows Phillips to shine. Phillips is easily the most accomplished creative drum collaborator Hiromi has worked with. Steve Smith is no slouch, but Simon is on another planet. You might appreciate the live version of Desire with Simon Phillips as well. There are 2 live versions circulating on KZbin. The outdoor venue is preferable, even if the mix isn't as strong. Not a criticism,as I have heard this version many time, but it is understandable that while describing Simon's wizardry, you talked over Hiromi's magic. All the more reason to give it another listen. Thanks for the post.

[@robote7679]

Massively excellent video. Yeah Hiromi-well you hear all you need to know with her. The bassist and drummer are both legends. Simon Phillps the drummer is one of the most respected and influential drummers on the planet so yeah-cream of the crop all around.

[@kanametousinabasi]

The Hiromi Trio Project is great, she herself is an amazing composer & player. Definitely check out the live performance of the song 'Alive' whenever you get the chance. She also has a rad feature on the song 'Running Black Water' by Screaming Headless Torsos (which is a band I highly recommended on the Mr. Bungle vid lol) Also it should be noted that their bassist, Anthony Jackson, definitely has the chops. He's is an immensely talented musician who helped pioneer the 6-string contrabass guitar & is most famous for the bassline in The O'Jays' song 'For The Love of Money' he also has a session career spanning from working with Quincy Jones, Al Di Meola, Chaka Kahn, Buddy Rich, Roberta Flack & more. If you need some more jazzy fusion piano music I'd recommend: Tigran Hamasyan, Mouse on the Keys, Fox Capture Plan, Jizue, & Pia-no-JaC

[@CriticalReactions]

He's played with Quincy Jones? Say no more. I have to look this dude up and find out how he went under my radar for so long.

[@kanametousinabasi]

@@CriticalReactions Yea they even worked together on The Wiz movie soundtrack that Quincy Jones produced lol

[@The_Horse-leafs_Cabbage]

One of my new personal faves. She's pretty damn amazing Thinking back on it, I think I discovered her work at the same time of discovering Cattle Decapitation's work.

[@ticarot]

Her birthday today. Happy birthday Hiromi!

[@darrellschaan2356]

I've been a fan of Hiromi's for years, can't get enough of her extraordinary talent and passion

[@Ivan-ow5xc]

Love her energy

[@cgafken]

Three legendary musicians right there. Both Simon and Anthony have some of the most impressive studio resumes of all time. I would absolutely love to see you react to “Vinnie Colaiuta live at The Baked Potato Pt.1” I dont think there is a better example of a drummer manipulating time feels and also soloing over a vamp in 7/8. Every musician friend I’ve shown it to had their jaw on the floor before the video ends.

[@jefffredenburg7231]

Anthony Jackson play with Chaka Khan and many more i can't name. Truly one of the most talented basses I've ever heard. He even design his own bass. Yeah, he/we got robbed from having a bass solo

[@clanrewired]

Awersome, she has flown under my radar as well. New stuff to explore! I'd recommend Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra as an interesting future subject ;)

[@alltheserobotsshallfall]

damn, this was freaking awesome!

[@Electrohedron]

It was nice to hear your thoughts on Hiromi. She is certainly someone to watch. I like her Voice album, especially "Labyrinth". (it doesn't have so much clockwork repetition like Move.)

[@MHyFavorites]

I've seen this as first piece in a concert, but with Steve Smith instead of Simon Phillips. In the concet it was so clear for me that the start of the piece is mimiking an electronic alam clock. Steve Smith had a much longer solo in the concert - I think it was longer than 5 minutes. Greate to see them live: Those musicians combine an unbelievable energy with great sensitivity and extreme precision. Hiromi's technical abilities on the piano are estonishing and only matched by very few other jazz pianists.

[@S0ulinth3machin3]

out of curiosity: who else?

[@joannalewis5279]

Great reaction

[@lupe_g2]

Nice to see this after reviewing CHON as this is one of Mario's biggest influences.

[@blacks4bbath]

Man you need to reaction to "Desire"or "Dancando no paraiso" from hiromi trio, i fucking love so much hiromi. Great channel greetings from Argentina!

[@CriticalReactions]

I definitely plan on checking out more of Hiromi's work, even if it's on my own time.

[@emiljai8346]

i ve watch 3 reaction video on Hiromi - the 3 guys where speechless lol

[@vigaxan86]

Hey Brian, the newest album by Haken just came out and I'd highly recommend you check out either Carousel or The Messiah Complex series of songs, both are really cool!

[@CriticalReactions]

I definitely need to get back to them. A new song sounds like a great reason to do just that.

[@theMadMan74]

Glad to discover another musician to listen to. Just noticed you have the video in mirror mode... the right hand movement was tripping me out.

[@CriticalReactions]

Same. When I started to talk about her backwards hand parts I finally realized it was the mirroring that was throwing me off. But the whole time listening I was silently perplexed 😂

[@lieutenantkleeia]

Dude I don't know if you'll see this but Haken just released a new album and there's an epic song Called Messiah Complex and you gotta hear it. It's a 5 act song 17+ minutes long and it is simply amazing. The 5 tracks are separated so I recommend you listen on Spotify for seemless transitions between tracks. I believe you'll love it. It's filled with references to their previous albums especially The Mountain and Vector.

[@thewhorocks515]

So metal.

[@barryispuzzled]

I'm not a jazz lover but I can see the supreme technique in these players and Hiromi is using the piano as Hendrix used the guitar ... to create a soundscape.

[@kirehj_sm]

Oh Hiromi is heavenly!!! You can also react to some of Michael Camilo's stuff with Anthony Jackson, From Within is a bop 👌🏼

[@f.d.robben159]

Good reaction and Hiromi is always a pleasure to watch and listen. But watching is kind of difficult when it's mirrored. I like to follow the movements and runs on the piano, but when the sound isn't matching the movement,.....

[@PatrickJane7]

AHHH YEAH I love Hiromi. My favorites are Alive and Kung fu world champion

[@carlclark9161]

Anthony Jackson rarely takes a bass solo in any situation... he doesn’t feel the need to impress that way. He loves laying down the groove at the ultimate level!

[@CriticalReactions]

That's really interesting. He sounds like quite the humble musician.

[@SteveHolmesDrums]

@@CriticalReactions Check out his discography, he's been a NY heavy hitter for decades. One of a kind.

[@manlioyllades]

You should check Anthony Jackson' with Al DI Meola. It would blow your mind. Look for "Race With Devil On Spanish Highway" and you will listen to one of the first shredders

[@Isaiah_McIntosh]

Damn that went bye fast. Could've probably used 5 more minutes and a bass solo but I was enjoying that all the way through. It felt like only 4 mins passed. I feel a bit bad cause hiromi was on my list of stuff to check out due to the Yvette recommendation.

[@bjhellstream]

Not my type of music at all really... but somehow it kept up my interest all along. The music got real swing. Liked it.

[@zyklqrswx]

oh hell yes. did I not suggest this girl? this chick is my jam for a more soulful one from her check out Sicilian Blue

[@beneathsands]

If you ever go back to Hiromi check out "Voice"

[@Nobody039]

Check out Mumps by Hatfield and the North!

[@trex70]

This reminds me on Emmersons Tarkus

[@tricksonafixed]

This is a Symphonic Tech Death request but you absolutely have to react to “Cosmic Limbs” or “Sage in Yearning” by Dessiderium. I think it is a solo project but overall it’s some killer shit!

[@MichaelSoucy]

Love Hiromi and the Trio. Even with the video reversed :-)

[@chacecampbell2697]

Somebody get this man Mouse On The Keys

[@ibrahimutant]

You neeeeeeeed to listen to Tigran Hamasyan. What the Waves Brought (live radio performance) Fides Tua (official music video performance) Drip The Grid & Out of the Grid

[@ibrahimutant]

Entertain Me Lilac ok i'll stop now...

[@ibrahimutant]

But really, Tigran can play piano like that and then beatbox the drums simultaneously!

[@stevemd6488]

Very Tarkus.

[@memorabiliatemporarium2747]

She clearly was somewhat inspired by video game compositions.

[@u.v.s.5583]

Mario broke an ankle trying to dance to these rhythms.

[@rubricscube_]

@@u.v.s.5583 lmao

[@Ivan-ow5xc]

You have to acquire a taste for free form jazz

[@Derthexus]

Hi🤟🎸

[@CriticalReactions]

Hey-o!!!!!

[@nowkentapplegate5315]

The piano is reversed LH and RH are backward in video.

[@davep3786]

why is the video backwards? simon 's a left handed drummer..

[@CriticalReactions]

It was to escape the DMCA bots.

[@davep3786]

@@CriticalReactions oooohhhhh.....

[@liliIiliIilil]

I really liked it until the improv, then it kind of lost me. I always preferred jazz that has stronger composition. That being said, they are all incredible musicians.

[@shacharh5470]

Technically she's amazing, first class really, but I don't find her ideas very interesting, especially her themes. Not dissing - I've seen her live and enjoyed it and I have one of her albums, but overall I find her a bit too technical on expanse of being emotive or having good compositional ideas.

[@DennisBayer]

Ok then, let's also throw in a suggestion: HEAVEN SHALL BURN - Übermacht (OFFICIAL VIDEO) - /watch?v=vMOfGpv4dEY

[@brunolheritier8829]

I follow Hiromi for a while now. Cool to find a review to this amazing musician. But you should really pay attention to your video editing to not flip the original video in your frame. So weird.

[@TomClark-Futoura]

The video was mirrored, so her hands (L & R) were too, in case anyone's interested.

[@philkimber8086]

Shame the live image is in mirror mode ... Makes it difficult to watch.

[@CriticalReactions]

Yeah, it threw me off as well. I was getting blocked quite often and used the mirror image to sneak past the algortihms for a bit.

[@philkimber8086]

Critical Reactions Oh yeah that makes sense now ,never considered those issues! All the shame it was really enjoyable seeing your reactions to these awesome musicians! Keep it up man !

[@magoelder9079]

Wen i listen hiromi i like more to hear it alone with her piano. It's more emotional to me

[@---wd3hp]

I don't see the metal connection some have made other than if one's frame of reference is activity. There is way more depth here than metal would even approach. This is no more metalesque than the Boston Pops is classical music. The instrumentation doesn't define the genre.

[@absgames9425]

With how they play, I think solos sections are kind of pointless.

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

Solos are pretty much mandatory in jazz. FWIW, she does less improv in the studio, but I actually prefer her live because I love those solo sections. She's so good at navigating through key changes and coming up with rhythmic ideas on the fly.

[@mikelbentube]

Venetian Snares - my half....amazing and not rock or metal

[@SupraNaturalTT]

Just my opinion and all the power to her and the band but this type of music is extremely hard to listen to. And why does a lot of her keystrokes always sound out of tune as if she is trying to hit a different tone than what's intended. I know nothing of this music professionally, I know of jazz but is this the way it usually sounds always hitting out of tune keys?

[@CriticalReactions]

I don't think anyone would disagree with you about this being difficult to listen to. I don't want to say that's the "point" of this kinda of music but it's certainly a defining characteristic of it. As for the tuning, I'd have to go back and listen again but she might be playing around with microtonality. That's the idea of changing the tones ever so slightly to get "notes between the notes." Though for a piano it wouldn't be something that could be done on the fly so I'm not thinking that's what's going on here.

[@veitheld167]

Well, I don't think this is difficult to listen to - eventually. If you listen a lot to such jazz music you start to hear the patterns. A chord can be played as an arpeggio and you can play the notes in any sequence. If you have heard that a zillion times then you will hear just the chord and the rythms, the sequence of notes just gives the chord different colors. So, while you hear a beatles song as a melody with some accompaniment, you hear these pieces as a thunderstorm of sounds, the chords become the new notes. I have this discussion a lot with my wife, she also keeps saying that this is hard stuff. I find it easy and get completely immeresed in the sound. However, I am 62 now and have listened to Jazz all my live. When I was joung I loved the clarinet solos of Benny Goodman (because I played a clarinet in a brass band and was impressed by his solos), the Charly Parker and so on. And now Hiromi.

[@SupraNaturalTT]

@@veitheld167 I definitely hear what you are saying it's just that certain tones rhythms and beats just sound so unappealing to me. It is in no way any disrespect to the artist performing. Kind of reminds me of certain foods that just aren't that appetizing to others taste buds. Aa a whole though what an absolutely wonderful thing music is and how it makes us feel, brings us together, motivates, heals broken hearts man that is a beautiful thing ❤️

[@veitheld167]

@@SupraNaturalTT Yeah, you make a point with that food-analogy. Although, when I was very young I just hated marzipan, which had the consequence that my sister always got my christmas share as well. So, I had to do something about it and forced myself to love marzipan. It worked, today I love marzipan!! Oh, and I completely agree to your other point. Just very recently I came across a video that I had completely overlooked, despite the fact that it got 23 million views, enthusiastic responses from heavy metal fans, jazzers, funk afficionado, music teachers etc.. This clip does exactly what you say, it brought together people across all ages, musical preferences and locations. I listended to it and was completely hooked. Not only is the music very interesting, it is also that the musicians are young, fresh and really passionated. You may wanna take a look at "Snarky Puppy - Lingus", kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpC7e5Kpaq6mh8U - if you do not know it already...

[@MarttiSuomivuori]

I do not get the purpose of this video. My problem, not yours.