The Jazzcat

The silent ritual begins. It appears to be a blessing for

the beauty of sound that we are about to behold. What struck a chord are the

first ones that she strikes for that muted distinctive flavor, a small

indication of creative direction. The engine has started.

A musical Mantra that builds, grows and gets its strength

from a powerhouse player wrapped in the cutest little bundle. Hiromi works the

synthesizer with the right hand and runs the lines on her piano with the left.

The demeanor of the music has an aura of classical influences while melodically

satisfying the three parts jazz waltzing her way into our hearts. You would

never know that someone who is so sweet has the power to possess all of that

fire!

 

Hiromi does not just play the music; she takes it and runs

with it. She is joined by Tony Grey on six string electric bass and as he holds

the bass down the line, Martin Valihora on drums adds all of this wonderful

color by applying just the perfect pressure to make the synergy complete.

 

The tunes take on different shapes and curves and can switch

gears at any given moment and never once is the martini shaken or stirred. Guitar

player David “Fuze” Fiuczynski comes onto the stage and joins in as the forth

element stimulating soul and virtuous energy for each band member as their

individual solos proceed to percolate! Hiromi hops over to electric piano

adding more dynamics to her already passionate percussive performance.

 

These cats are going for the gold with velocity moving,

fusing and heading for the winners tape. The music is powerful and about as big

a sound as a quartet plus a little electricity can produce. When Hiromi is done

working a tune, the audience exhales. The prelude to a kiss may start off in a

mystical darkness, proceed to rock you out and end with cascading tender

caresses of onyx and ivoronic bliss!

 

Turn off your straight ahead ears and it is a pleasure to

listen to her musical journeys. It is not the same old thing, it is not full of

common clichés and each moment cannot be predetermined. Our destiny is where

Hiromi says it is. Fingers, fist and elbows in the lower register accentuate

the drama, heighten the fantasy and allow us to go as far down the rabbit hole

as we wish.

 

The technical prowess upon which she accurately attacks and

delivers is evident of many years in the shed. She is a performer who can cross

each corner of the musical universe and each genre would claim that she belongs

with them; a real multi-directional pleasant mixture of entertainment. They say

you can’t please all of the people all of the time; perhaps you can!

 

 LeRoy Downs