SFJAZZ presents the Trio Project featuring Hiromi
2014-03-16
Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA
7:00 PM, Sunday, March 16, 2014

[7:03 PM lights down, announcements by Randall Kline]

1. [7:08 PM] Move
2. [7:19 PM] Player
   [7:31 PM banter]
3. [7:33 PM] Dreamer
4. [7:42 PM] Seeker
   [7:53 PM banter]
5. [7:54 PM] Warrior
   [set ends 8:05 PM]

[8:26 PM lights down, Hiromi walks out to begin the set alone]

1. [8:27 PM] Firefly
   [8:37 PM banter]
2. [8:38 PM] Wanderer
3. [8:47 PM] Margarita!
   [9:02 back announce and banter]
4. [9:03 PM] Alive
   [9:13 PM set ends, another band introduction, bow, then off; back at 9:15 PM]
   
   Encore
5. [9:16 PM] ?
   [show ends 9:27 PM, bow and then off by 9:28 PM]

• Anthony Jackson: contrabass guitar;
• Simon Phillips: drums;
• Hiromi Uehara: piano, keyboards.

Lucked out on Sunday traffic and made it over to SFJAZZ in good time - held up only by drivers unprepared for the blazing light of the evening sun shining down the roadway. Parked in the usual spot after making an extra loop (hopes dashed again for a closer space), then walked over about 10 min before showtime. I'd say that's just about exactly right! Time now to get this show on the road!

First set was pretty good – at least a little overlap with last years set, but mostly new tunes (from a yet-to-be released album). Good flavors from all of the players, and far less over-the-top than last year's run. Fun stuff!

The second set opened with a beautiful, lithe Hiromi solo work, Firefly, that offered maximum contrast to the powerful unison and canon runs of the more typical trio pieces. This was my favorite of the night! The rest of the set was good, with Margarita! being a particularly fun piece to listen to. And while Anthony Jackson's nimble bass runs were always interesting to listen to, Simon Phillips deserves special accolades for coming up with consistently different – and interesting – variations on the standard 4/4 swing. Might have something to do with that monster trap set he drives, but I'd lay more than a little credit to the drummer-mind as well. Another group to keep in the “catch 'em every time” category!

Back to the calendar!