Hiromi: Live In Marciac

The Trio Project.... when musicians of this caliber get together and perform, you know you are in for a treat!Hiromi is a pianist of immense talent. She has quickly become my favorite piano player. I've been a fan of Anthony Jackson for years! His skill on bass (contrabass) is untouchable... the interplay between AJ and Hiromi on the tune Now or Never is fantastic. Drummer Simon Phillips, who I've been a long time fan of as well, delivers a tour de force performance. His mastery of 4 way independence lends itself perfectly to the twists and turns that Hiromi takes throughout each piece of music. I only wish that this Trio would have released more live material. As stated above, when you have this level of talent on stage every night, no two shows will be the same. To hear different versions of the tunes would definitely be a delight to have added to the library!I have both Live in Marciac and Move live in Tokyo. And, both are must haves if you are a fan of anyone of these 3 maestros.

The beauty of fusion,and perhaps inherent cause of its disolve was that it required so much education, skill, humility, resolve and some innate genius. Maybe it was doomed from the beginning. But suddenly it's back in full force for "you kids" to watch and enjoy. It was always, and is here, awe inspring to see people, in this case a trio, take on such difficult, difficult, almost athletic work and present it flawlessly, on demand. I refrain from saying they make it look easy. You watch and you appreciate how much work went into it, wondering "how can they do that?". That's all here, like it was back then. I applaud any musician who came up with Al Dimeola. Anthony Jackson did his time, to be sure. Maybe a little worse for wear here, but you have to appreciate his accomplishments and what he has taken on here. Simon Phillips was a revelation for me. Man can he play! An elite drummer, the likes of Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Carl Palmer, Bill Bruford (insert your favorite here).Only issue with sound quality is Jackson's bass, which sounds muddy in lowest registers, where he spends a lot of time. This may only be the limitations of my sub $200 subwoofer. Hiromi and Phillips are crystal. Get it.

This is a fabulous concert. I disagree with the comments saying that some of the musicianship seems tired. Simon Phillips and Anthony Jackson are on spring chickens, that's for sure, but there is no lack of energy. Musicians don't need to be jumping all over the place to be good. I thought the level of musicianship was excellent all around, and Hiromi as usual is fantastic on the keyboard.The sonics are excellent. The DVD has both stereo PCM and Dolby 5.1 tracks. I preferred the latter because it gave me more of a sense of the auditorium but both sound great. The music is focused in the front - no weird stuff like instruments coming out of the surround or rear speakers.The video is excellent as well. I thought it was tastefully done, each shot spending enough time on the performer to allow us to focus on what they are doing rather than skipping back and forth among the three or trying to give us fancy viewing angles.I'm very happy I purchased this DVD. Everything about it is first rate.

Hiromi shows off her brilliance and her sincere music loving spirit shines through as always. I'm always amazed at how her face shows how much she loves to play and she is surely one of the best. I saw her in an NHK documentary with Yano Akiko (there's also available in Japan a CD/DVD that they did together) and I was surprised that she looks so different to me when she's just standing around talking and not playing, the keyboard just sets her on fire. Anthony and Simon are tight and their playing makes this session hit. Simon plays with the power of rock, but the fluidity of jazz and Anthony walks all over the bass. Video quality is good, sound is also good with Dolby 5.1 and stereo PCM. It would have been great if a producer would ever use the multi-angle feature of DVDs to show each player and their hands and let the viewer switch, but I haven't found one yet.

The video is somewhat below my expectations. Hiromi's powerful stile is still their, but the rhythm group is not. There is so much one can do alone. Beethoven's arrangement is probably the highest point of this recording, with the rest being largely indistinguishable and broadly flat. The main problem is that Hiromi is by herself and can not get neither inspiration nor real support from the rest of the trio. My suggestion for the next round would be to pair with younger and more vital guys, and through in a bit more diversity in the music itself.Yes, and please do not forget the keyboard, which squarely sits on top of your grand piano but is rarely used. We still need some synthetic sounds coming from your ardent heart through a pair highly capable hands.

I saw this band recently at a local jazz fest and when I saw this DVD was coming out I ordered it immedialtely.For anyone who only has her CDs- seeing her live is a whole other experience.Our seats were pretty far away when I saw her so its a treat to be able to see everything up close on this DVD.The lighting is somewhat subdued on this stage but everything is clear and the angles are interesting and they didn't jump around too much for the editing.And the sound is superb.This girl has everything-amazing technique-yes-but so much more- energy,commitment and musicality,charisma-and her obvious love for the music all come through loud and clear on here.So many highlights but her interpretation of the Beethoven Sonata is just exquisite.Highly recommended.

Some folk (jazz critics!) find her style a bit histrionic and flamboyant - I love it! Also bought for the great Anthony Jackson as I'm a part-time bass player. Excellent surround sound too.

Excellent ! A magnificent production , safely delivered , thank you .

such skill , understanding and feeling from one so young producing great jazz, priceless.

Fantastic concert. Sound Quality and Video 1st class.

Super musicianship!!! Great combi of jazz, fusion and even some "pop" kind of melodies. I could recommend this to anybody who loves real live music with a lot of improvisation