Hiromi's Sonicwonder - Out There (2025)

In 2023, pianist and composer Hiromi Uehara released the groove-laden Sonicwonderland, employing a new band to record it: French bassist Hadrien Feraud, trumpeter Adam O'Farrill, and drummer Gene Coye. Hiromi's Sonicwonder. The album credited to Hiromi's Sonicwonder was lauded in the global jazz and pop press; tours and concert performances sold out. They developed a musical character and language unique to anything she'd done before. Out There offers eight compositions, including the four-part title track; the album is an extension and expansion of the music found on Sonicwonder.
The set opens with "XYZ," a startlingly dense new version of the first track on Another Mind, her 2007 debut album. The original was a piano trio version and showcased her compositional potential. This version is an ensemble affair. Introduced by Coye's syncopated snare breaks, O'Farrill's trumpet rides up front with the pianist while Feraud frenetically bridges communication between his bandmates while moving the tune forward. The trumpet and piano solos are dynamic. "Yes! Ramen!" melds a galloping synth sounding like a dead cross between a shamisen and a banjo over driving ska horns, a liquidy fusion bassline, and clattering, yet somehow precise disco-style percussion. "Pendulum" is a spectral, neo-soul-cum-jazz ballad in duet form. Guest Michelle Willis wrote the lyrics with Hiromi; her, lithe, sultry alto phrasing delivers resonant emotion atop Hiromi's softly expressive piano. There is also an instrumental version of the tune that the pianist has made part of her live set.
Half the album is comprised of the four-part, 30-minute title suite. "Takin' Off" is a jaunty contemporary fusion tune wherein Hiromi's piano guides the changes while her synths, alongside O'Farrill's horn, play in unison or counterpoint, then execute and extrapolate on a kinetic melody over the first half as Coye double times, syncopates, and breaks without cessation. Feraud spends the first half prodding the frontline forward before he and Hiromi trade contrapuntal fours in the bridge before everyone ushers in a third phase over a bass solo. "Strollin'" combines swinging contemporary jazz with elegant, harmonic interplay between Hiromi, Feraud, and O'Farrill. "Orion" commences sparingly; piano and electric bass speak to one another in staccato phrases before the composition changes shape to showcase the trumpeter, with delicious composing from the pianist. On this track, Coye excels at retaining the tension between timekeeping and rhythmic invention. "The Quest" anthemically combines prog rock, contemporary jazz, post-bop, classical motifs, and gospel over its eight-minute length. Closer "Balloon Pop" stands outside the suite. A deceptively simple rhythm introduced by Feraud and Coye, Hiromi's staccato piano vamp introduces the playful theme (the bassist's funky yet frenetic playing adds to this). Energy emerges via developing interactions and host modulations adding depth and tension. The ensemble responds in the second half with conversational phrases that underscore the band's cohesion in consensus. Out There, brilliant in its own right, perfectly illumines its predecessor while offering astonishing musical growth as Hiromi's bandmates develop a canny familiarity and comfort with one another in performance.