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Hiromi: Tiny Desk Concert

By Suraya Mohamed
Published September 8, 2023 at 5:00 AM EDT

Hiromi Uehara arrived at NPR wearing comfortable sweats, her chic hair already styled and perfectly coiffed for the performance. A keyboard gig bag was strapped on her back with her Nord Lead A1 analog modeling synthesizer, a versatile instrument loaded with her programmed patches. Its buzzy, modular sound started the show with a funky melodic line that sets up this highly energetic and joyful set.

Just before this performance, she and her band had just finished recording their soon to be released new album, Sonicwonderland. They perform two songs from that project here, and each one is its own auditory adventure, filled with sophisticated arrangements and lush textures. Adam O'Farrill's trumpet playing is exquisite, as he sometimes routes his horn sound through pedals to create an ethereal tone. Hadrien Feraud thumps his bass lines with precision and grit as he locks in really tight with Gene Coye's crisp and momentous drum performance.

You can see how much fun Hiromi is having here, her beautiful smile beams as she rips her small but strong hands up and down multiple keyboards. She moves seamlessly between the three instruments, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting, sometimes dancing — always breathtaking. Her whole body generates an observable power that's also playful and virtuosic. She plays with great command but yet she is also at ease, as her notes ripple from her fingertips like streams of water.

SET LIST

  • "Sonicwonderland"
  • "Wanted"


MUSICIANS

  • Hiromi Uehara: piano, keys 
  • Adam O'Farrill: trumpet
  • Gene Coye: drums
  • Hadrien Feraud: bass


TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producer: Suraya Mohamed 
  • Director/Editor: Maia Stern
  • Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
  • Creative Director: Bob Boilen 
  • Series Producer: Bobby Carter
  • Videographers: Maia Stern, Alanté Serene, Joshua Bryant
  • Audio Assistant: Kwesi Lee
  • Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
  • Photographer: Catie Dull
  • Tiny Desk Team: Kara Frame, Hazel Cills 
  • VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
  • Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
Music Tiny Desk Concerts
Suraya Mohamed
Suraya Mohamed is a three-time Peabody Award-winning producer, sound designer and editor. She currently serves as the project manager for Jazz Night In America and is a contributing producer on the Alt.Latino podcast. She also produces NPR's holiday specials package, including Tinsel Tales, Hanukkah Lights, Toast Of The Nation, Pink Martini's Joy To The World: A Holiday Spectacular and most recently Hamilton: A Story Of US. You'll also find her work on the Tiny Desk series as either a producer or engineer.
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