Art Hirahara

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Art Hirahara
Born1971 (age 49–50)
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
InstrumentsPiano
Years active1990s–present
Websitearthirahara.com

Art Hirahara (born 1971) is an American jazz pianist and composer.

Life and career[]

Hirahara started playing the piano at the age of four.[1] He studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the California Institute of the Arts.[2] While at Oberlin, he had jazz lessons with pianist Neal Creque.[1] He has been part of the jazz scene in New York since 2003,[3] after moving there from the San Francisco Bay Area.[2]

Hirahara's debut album, Edge of This Earth, was released in 2000.[4] In 2011 Posi-Tone Records released Hirahara's Noble Path, a trio album with (bass), and (drums).[4] His next Posi-Tone album, Libations & Meditations from 2015, was a trio recording with bassist Linda Oh (bass) and drummer John Davis.[5][3]

His album Central Line was released in January 2017.His music video for Brooklyn Express was the winner at the Audio Shoot International Video & Film Festival, the Queen City Film Festival, and the Raleigh Film and Art Festival, all in 2019.[6]

Playing style[]

According to Nate Chinen at The New York Times, Hirahara "brings a broad base of knowledge to his enterprise: electronic composition, West African music, Balinese gamelan, [and] multiple strains of the avant-garde".[2]

Discography[]

An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

As leader/co-leader[]

Year recorded Title Label Personnel/Notes
2000 Edge of This Earth Art Hirahara With Bob Kenmotsu (tenor sax), Jeff Alkire (alto sax), Chuck MacKinnon (trumpet), Benjamin Rubin (bass), Jason Lewis (drums)
2011* Noble Path Posi-Tone Trio, with Yoshi Waki (bass), Dan Aran (drums)
2015* Libations & Meditations Posi-Tone Trio, with Linda Oh (bass), John Davis (drums)
2017* Central Line Posi-Tone
2018* Sunward Bound Posi-Tone Most tracks trio, with Linda May Han Oh (bass), Rudy Royston (drums); some tracks quartet, with Donny McCaslin (sax) added
2020* Balance Point Posi-Tone Quartet, with Melissa Aldana (tenor sax), Joe Martin (bass), Rudy Royston (drums)[1]
2021* Open Sky Posi-Tone

As sideman[]

Year recorded Leader Title Label
1999* Adam Lane Hollywood Wedding Cadence Jazz
2012 Russ Nolan Tell Me
2013* Sean Nowell The Kung-Fu Masters Posi-Tone
2013* Akira Tana Otonowa Vegamusic
2014* Nick Hempton Odd Man Out Posi-Tone
2014* Tom Tallitsch Ride Posi-Tone
2016* Akira Tana Stars Across the Ocean Vegamusic
2019* Akira Tana Ai San San – Love's Radiance (愛燦燦) Vegamusic
2019? Something Blue Maximum Enjoyment Posi-Tone[7]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c West, Michael J. (August 2020). "Collaboration Fuels Hirahara". DownBeat. Vol. 87 no. 8. p. 15.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Chinen, Nate & Ratliff, Nate (January 5, 2015) "Albums from Art Hirahara and Death Grips". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Art Hirahara" Archived 2017-08-08 at the Wayback Machine. Posi-Tone Records. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Micallef, Ken (August 2011) "Art Hirahara – Noble Path". Down Beat. p. 70.
  5. ^ Bilawsky, Dan (December 16, 2014) "Art Hirahara: Libations & Meditations (2014)". AllAboutJazz.
  6. ^ "arthirahara.com – Art Hirahara jazz pianist and composer". Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  7. ^ Simms-Burton, Michele L. (April 2019). "Something Blue: Maximum Enjoyment". DownBeat. Vol. 86 no. 4. p. 61.
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