Celebrity Travel: Go away with Hiromi
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Born in Hamamatsu, Japan, and educated at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, renowned jazz pianist and composer Hiromi Uehara – known professionally as Hiromi – splits her time between homes in New York and Tokyo. Her musical skills were recognized from an early age. At 14, Hiromi performed with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Three years later, Chick Corea invited her to share the stage at his Tokyo concert. Recognized for her artistry by DownBeat’s annual critics and readers polls, Hiromi is currently touring to promote her album “Sonicwonderland.” Fans may follow her music and travel updates on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hiromimusic/). This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: How much of your year is spent on tour?
A: About a bit more than half of the year.
Q: You recently performed two nights at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), which is a unique venue in Phoenix. How was that experience?
A: I have played there three times in the past. MIM is a great, intimate venue with beautiful acoustics. It is this amazing musical instrument museum. You can visit the museum before shows [and be] surrounded by these amazing collections of instruments from all over the world. I visited the museum right before my [concert] and was just fascinated by all the video footage from all over the world for the amazing number of different instruments that I have never seen before. Such an inspiration!
Q: What was your experience like when you moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music?
A: I loved living in Boston. I still love it. It brings me such nostalgic memories from my school days. What is great about Boston is it is a walkable city, just like New York. I love cities where you can just walk and explore. Boston has such a historic feeling in each part. All the brownstones are so pretty and the Charles River is beautiful [with] many people running along the river. The town just offers a bit of everything.
Q: When you have time off, would you rather travel somewhere or hunker down at home?
A: It might sound funny, but [I would prefer to stay at] home since I am always on the road.
Q: What untapped destination should people know about?
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