Hiromi The Trio Project at BroadStage in Santa Monica

Hiromi is bringing The Trio Project back to the stage, and the one Los Angeles date on the itinerary lands at BroadStage in Santa Monica on Tuesday, October 6. For anyone tracking concerts in Los Angeles this fall, a touring jazz piano trio built around a virtuoso like this doesn't come through often, and this lineup is a genuinely new configuration of the group.

Who's playing

Hiromi Uehara is one of the most technically demanding pianists working in jazz right now, known for runs that blur the line between composed and improvised and a stage presence that treats the piano more like a full band than a solo instrument. The Trio Project is her long-running vehicle for that approach, and this edition brings in James Genus on bass, stepping into the group for the first time, alongside veteran drummer Simon Phillips. Genus has played with Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and the Saturday Night Live band; Phillips has logged decades behind the kit for Toto, Jeff Beck and The Who. Neither one is a sideman in the usual sense, and a trio with that much combined history tends to push a show somewhere unpredictable rather than just replaying the record.

If you care about live music in Los Angeles beyond the usual rock and pop circuit, this is one of the more interesting bookings on the calendar this month. It's also a rare chance to catch a group figuring out a new chemistry in real time, since this tour follows a lineup change after the loss of longtime bassist Anthony Jackson.

The venue

BroadStage is a mid-size performing arts hall in Santa Monica, built for exactly this kind of acoustic, detail-oriented show. The room favors clarity over volume, so a trio like this, with a lot of space between notes, should actually sound better here than in a bigger room built for a rock show. It is part of a broader presenting calendar that also includes the Santa Monica International Jazz Festival, so jazz fans in the area may want to check what else is on the docket around the same week.

Practical info

When: Tuesday, October 6, 2026, 7:30 PM Where: BroadStage, 1310 11th St, Santa Monica, CA 90401 Tickets: Through BroadStage's own box office; pricing wasn't published on the event listing, so confirm the current tiers before you buy

Santa Monica sits close enough to the Westside that it's an easy add if you're already out running other errands or grabbing dinner nearby. Street parking is limited around 11th Street, so budget a few extra minutes if you're driving over for the show. For anyone building out a longer list of LA events this weekend, pairing an early dinner in downtown Santa Monica with a 7:30 show is a straightforward night out.

This is a single date, not a run, so if a piano trio built around a drummer and bassist of this caliber sounds like your kind of night, it's worth locking in sooner rather than later. Shows like this one are also a good reminder to keep checking BroadStage's calendar directly, since smaller venues like this don't always get wide promotion outside their own mailing list.