2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival
by Michele Wilson-Morris

Hiroshima gave the final performance of the night and festival. While it took a bit of time to get their instruments and technical aspects of the show up and running, it was definitely worth the wait. It was quite obvious by the fact that the number of people close to the stage swelled greatly as they began to perform that Hiroshima was the act that everyone had been waiting for. As someone who was only slightly familiar with their music, I wondered if they were really as good as they are touted to be. Since they'd toured with Miles Davis, been signed by Quincy Jones himself, earned a Grammy nomination, received a Soul Train Award for Best Album, and had a single hit at the top of the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart for 3 consecutive months, I was looking to be stunned. They did not disappoint.

Hiroshima's unique blend of Asian and traditional jazz instruments is a genre all to itself. They have, over a 30 year career, obviously perfected both their music and onstage performance. But there's more to it than that. They obviously love what they do and that comes across with a rich, bold sound that mesmerized all of us. They connected with the audience in a way that I can only describe as hypnotic. As we slightly older than young but younger than old people sometimes say, they stole the show. People of every race, age group, gender, and religion came together as one while we were lulled into bliss and loved every minute of it. I could write on and on about Hiroshima, but what good would it do? You'd be bored, and I'd be tired. So, let me instead sum their performance up in one word - PERFECTION. I am now and will continue to be a Hiroshima fan for the rest of my days.