DON’T BOTHER
Rating: 
On her debut recording, Another Mind, Hiromi impressed with her technical abilities, as well as her willingness to embrace a variety of musical approaches. Wild hair up the butt guitarist David Fiuczynski helped her to expand the sonic possibilities of her music considerably. There was enough going on throughout the record that Hiromi’s occasional flirtations with Quiet Storm style soul jazz were tolerable. I figured that, at the very least, Hiromi’s subsequent releases would be interesting, which is why you are reading this post.
For her sophomore recording, Brain, Hiromi strips down to a trio for a more intimate sound. She also downplays the wackiness that so enlivened her debut. That would be fine if she had more mature compositions and deeper contemplation to replace it with.
Unfortunately, Brain leaves you wondering if Hiromi really has all that much on her mind.
The CD opens with the playful, silly, and technically impressive Kung-Fu World Champion, which constantly shifts gears rhythmically, slows down and speeds up and accentuates her virtuosity, and that of the other members of her trio, Tony Grey (bass) and Martin Valihora (drums). Frankly, it’s not all that deep, but it’s fun.
Then, we get If…, which is pretty much a total loss. It’s drab soul jazz that wouldn’t be out of place on The Quiet Storm. Bo-ring. That one features bass great Anthony Jackson, to little effect.
Wind Song is a theme reminiscent of some of the Vince Guaraldi tunes from the Charlie Brown specials. It’s pleasant enough, but doesn’t amount to much.
Again, the title cut, Brain, just isn’t all that interesting, and the synth noodling inserted within isn’t integrated with the composition.
And so it goes. The compositions are pleasant enough but have no hooks to speak of. They can’t get any traction in your brain. It’s all kind of bland, unfortunately.
Keytalk gets some funk action going, but by this time, you’ll probably be getting impatient. It’s a case of too little, too late.
It’s clear that on Brain, Hiromi wanted to get away from the kicky but somewhat shallow hijinks of her debut and delve deeper. I admire the intention, but her strategy backfires on her.
Maybe this is all she has to offer at this stage of her life and career. Hiromi seems like a nice person, I admire her eclecticism, and she’s got a lot of ability. Maybe she needs some life experience to focus all of that knowledge and technique. That I’d like to hear.