HIROMI

Hiromi will perform on Friday, April 4, at 8 p.m. at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon (at Bay), San Francisco, as part of SFJAZZ’s ninth annual Spring Season.

Hiromi, on piano and keyboards, will be joined by David Fiuczynski (guitar), Tony Grey (bass), and Martin Valihora (drums).

“A riveting live performer, pianist Hiromi merges youthful energy with stunning virtuosity,” said an SFJAZZ spokesperson.

The Village Voice calls her “awe-inspiring ... in and out like a downhill racer, lost in the music and the moment.”

Hiromi, whose last name is Uehara, first studied piano at age 6 in her hometown of Shizuoka. At age 20, she expanded her musical sensibilities by attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

The keyboardist/composer mesmerized the U.S. jazz community with her 2003 Telarc debut, “Another Mind,” which received the Recording Industry Association of Japan’s Jazz Album of the Year Award.

Her second release, “Brain,” won the Horizon Award at the 2004 Surround Music Awards, Swing Journal’s New Star Award, Jazz Life’s Gold Album, HMV Japan’s Best Japanese Jazz Album, and the Japan Music Pen Club’s Japanese Artist Award. “Brain” was also named Album of the Year in Swing Journal’s 2005 Readers Poll.

In 2006, Hiromi won Best Jazz Act at the Boston Music Awards and the Guinness Jazz Festival’s Rising Star Award. She also claimed Jazzman of the Year, Pianist of the Year and Album of the Year in Swing Journal Japan’s Readers Poll for her 2006 release, “Spiral.” Hiromi continues her winning streak with the 2007 release of “Time Control.” Today at 29 with four award-winning albums to her credit, she draws crowds internationally.

She says she draws inspiration from virtually everyone and everything around her. “I really don’t have barriers to any type of music. I could listen to everything from metal to classical music to anything else.”

For more on Hiromi, including samples of her music, visit www.hiromimusic.com.

Tickets are $25, $30, $36 and $56. To make reservations, call (866) 920-5299 (toll free), e-mail boxoffice [at] sfjazz.org or go on-line to www.sfjazz.org.

Japan Society Event

The Japan Society of Northern California is presenting an interactive pre-show talk with Hiromi. Admission includes a select seat for the performance.

Check-in will be at 6:45 p.m. The program begins at 7 p.m. Due to the intimate size of the pre-show event, late arrivals (after 7 p.m.) will not be seated until after the conclusion of Hiromi’s talk.

Tickets will be available for pick-up from Japan Society staff at the door prior to the event.

For more information, contact the Japan Society at (415) 986-4383 or visit www.usajapan.org. The cost for the event is $55 for Japan Society members and $65 for non-members.

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