The 2025 OzAisa Festival is fast approaching, running from 17 October through to 9 November. The program once again is packed with loads of amazing events, performances and installations for the whole family.
After many years of schedules not lining up, OzAsia is excited to have international jazz superstar Hiromi perform at the 2025 festival. Fearless musical innovator and Grammy-winning pianist, Hiromi is widely regarded as one of Japan’s most extraordinary artists.
Renowned for her technical mastery and her remarkable ability to reimagine genre and form, Hiromi erases the lines between jazz and classical, taking audiences on an uncharted sonic journey.
Glam Adelaide spoke to Hiromi in the lead up to the OzAsia Festival about her music, her performance and where her love of piano and music grew from.
“I was very lucky to have my first piano teacher who loved music so much. She taught me how much joy music could bring to life. She was a classical piano teacher but she loved jazz, pop – she just loved all kinds of ‘good’ music. She had me listen to Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, Al Jarreau, Jackson 5, etc. She taught me music should be delivered from heart to heart, not from fingers to ears.”
Throughout her illustrious career, Hiromi has released 12 albums and has collaborated with jazz legends such as Chick Corea and Anthony Jackson.
We asked Hiromi what it is about jazz music and jazz piano that has drawn her to forge her career out of it, as well as where she draws inspiration from when composing new works.
“Improvisation – I love creating music at the very moment. Inspiration can be found anywhere; it is all up to if I am sensitive enough at that moment to feel it.”
At the OzAsia Festival, Hiromi will be joining forces with multi-Grammy-nominated string quartet, PUBLIQuartet to present Hiromi’s The Piano Quintet. Highly melodic, intricately arranged and emotionally intense, this suite showcases Hiromi’s otherworldly talent as she interacts with the strings with unbridled energy and impeccable precision.
“I released the album Silver Lining Suite in 2021. It reflects my emotional journey during the Covid time. When I was writing music, I was isolated like everyone else in the world, dreaming that someday I will perform this piece in front of a live audience. This song really only feels complete by being played in front of an audience – it is such an amazing feeling. I met PUBLIQuartet also during the Covid period when I was performing this album in New York for the first time. They are amazing improvisers, full of rhythms and freedom. I instantly became a big fan of them, and you will too.”
An artist constantly pushing boundaries, Hiromi continues to blaze an incandescent trail across the jazz scene — leading audiences through the infinite possibilities of creative, musical expression and emotion, in her uniquely joyous and ebullient way.
Hirmomi and The PUBLIQuartet will be performing The Piano Quintetat the Adelaide Town Hall on Tuesday 28 October, 2025 at 7.30pm.
Further information and tickets can be found at: https://ozasia.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/whats-on/hiromi-the-piano-quintet
