BRAIN

Not a prog album. Neither a jazz album. A trio album. (Hiromi on Keyboards, Martin Valihora on Drums, Tony Grey and Anthony Jackson alternatively on bass). After her pyrothecnic debut, Hiromi explores new territories. The result is quite surprising. Each track sounds different from the others and you really don't know what to expect next. The beginning is flamboyant. "Kung-Fu World Champion" is a mix of genres at maximum speed: a sort of videogame crazy funk oriental jazzy music. "If" is calmer, mostrly jazz with a prog flavour. "The wind song" shows Hiromi's classical training and progressive taste with a lyrical cascade of notes. "Brain", after a retro computerized intro, alternates a captivating romantic theme with its jazz declination. "Desert on the Moon" is a hyperfast fusion track, with a few quieter and lyrical moments. Anthony Jackson and Martin Valihora at their best. "Green Tea Farm", a solo piano recording, reveals Hiromi's nostalgia for her homeland. "Keytalk" is absolute fusion: "(the keys) laugh, moan, cry. I wanted them to speak out loud"! "Legend of the Purple Valley" is a long track composed on an ancient japanese story, a sort of prog jazz and a somewhat oriental scent. In my opinion, the record's most moving track! Strange to say, a track with lesser future fortune than deserved. I'm Hiromi's huge fan, so it's 5 stars out of 5. Maybe for a prog fan, it could be 4. Here Hiromi's voices aren't reunited in one single style, the artist is still looking for her way. Maybe not Hiromi's most mature album, surely Hiromi's most various one!