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On April 4, jazz pianist and composer Hiromi and her Sonicwonder quartet will mark the release of “Out There” — the ensemble’s second album together — with a Symphony Center Presents concert that also launches the group’s spring tour of North America.‘
In a recent interview about her upcoming Chicago appearance, Hiromi said, “I’m super thrilled, because it’s the day of the release, and being able to celebrate the release with a live audience — there’s nothing better than that. I love to perform; I live to perform and that’s my favorite thing to do in life.”
Born in Hamamatsu, Japan, Hiromi developed an early love of jazz when her childhood piano teacher introduced her to the genre. When she was 17, jazz icon Chick Corea invited her to play with him at a Tokyo concert, and as a young adult, she moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. Since releasing her debut album in 2003, she has earned international acclaim for her eclectic style, which draws inspiration from jazz-rock fusion, acoustic jazz, classical, funk and pop music. She performed at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, and her 2023 NPR Tiny Desk Concert has been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube.
In 2023, Hiromi released “Sonicwonderland,” her first album with bassist Hadrien Feraud, drummer Gene Coye and trumpeter Adam O’Farrill — an ensemble collectively known as Hiromi’s Sonicwonder. Since then, the group has continued to play and tour together, and Hiromi credits their close collaboration as an influence on her compositions for the upcoming album. “When we improvise, it’s like a continuous conversation, musically,” she said. “I know how they react, and I know how they respond to things.”
Hiromi elaborated on several individual strengths of the band members that are highlighted on “Out There.” “For example, Adam [O’Farrill] uses his trumpet with pedals. The trumpet is a single-note instrument, but when he plays through the pedals, he can also play a harmony, so he can be like a synth player behind me when I’m playing the melody or the bass player’s playing the melody.”
“Hadrien [Feraud], the bass player, he’s known as an amazing technician,” she said. “His technique is just ridiculous, but what I really love about his playing is ... his listening skills. He’s always listening to the soloist and always deciding what to play to enrich the soloist, and so his harmony concept is very interesting. I really wanted to feature that, as well as his improvising skills.”
As for Gene Coye, “he plays drums with such a humor,” Hiromi said. “I wanted to feature his drum solo with us playing some humoristic kicks behind his solo, because I know how he would react to that. And he’s such a responsive drummer as well. When we solo or when we play something together, he’s always listening, and there is always like a Tom and Jerry moment between us, and I really wanted to feature that as well.”
Coye grew up in Evanston, so the Chicago concert will be a homecoming for him: “It makes me feel very emotional to play in the hometown of a band member, so that’s another part that I’m excited about, and I’m sure he is excited to go back and play.”
On the upcoming tour, Hiromi especially looks forward to playing the album’s titular work, a four-part suite that takes about 30 minutes to perform. When asked about her inspiration for the piece, Hiromi said, “I just love the words ‘out there.’ It’s something that stimulates my curiosity, and curiosity is the key to my life — I think, to everybody’s life. You have to get out from here and go out there to find something new, discover, go for an adventure.”
The themes of the first two movements are apparent in their titles: “Taking Off” and “Strolling,” which evoke the beginning of a journey and the excitement of exploring a new place. The third part, “Orion,” is named after the constellation. “I love writing about stars because it’s like the old times, when there was no Google Maps or any kind of map — all the adventurers always used the stars as a map,” Hiromi explained. The idea behind the final part, “The Quest,” is that “life is like a quest,” she said. “You just keep exploring and just go along with your curiosity and just keep going.”
Hiromi feels that the suite is like “a musical adventure” that audiences can experience without leaving their seats. “I always love the concentration when I play the suite — the level of concentration from the performers’ side as well as the audience side is so much more when I play this kind of longer piece,” she said. “We feel like we’re running the marathon together, and when we finish it, I always feel like we are kind of hugging each other. It’s a virtual hug, but when I finish playing, I feel like there is an emotional attachment to each other, like we did it. We did this together.”
This sense of connection is key to Hiromi’s love of touring, and it’s clear from audiences’ responses to her bubbly stage presence that the feeling is mutual. “It’s a little bit the same experience as being a chef,” she said of performing a live concert. “You cook the food that you think is delicious, and you want other people to enjoy, and you’re very happy if the person who’s eating it can be excited and happy about the food you made.”
“I feel like being on the road and playing the show is looking for friends who like the same music as me. I’m looking for the company who can enjoy the same music with me, so it’s like a lifelong adventure of looking for friends.”
