Art Hirahara

Art Hirahara
Born1971 (age 53–54)
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
InstrumentPiano
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 Yoshi Waki (bass), and Dan Aran (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 Year released 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)
2010 2011 Noble Path Posi-Tone Trio, with Yoshi Waki (bass), Dan Aran (drums, percussion)[7]
2013 2015 Libations & Meditations Posi-Tone Trio, with Linda Oh (bass), John Davis (drums)[8]
2015 2017 Central Line Posi-Tone Most tracks trio, with Linda May Han Oh (bass), Rudy Royston (drums); some tracks quartet, with Donny McCaslin (tenor sax) added[9]
2017 2018 Sunward Bound Posi-Tone Quartet, with Donny McCaslin (tenor sax), Linda May Han Oh (bass), Rudy Royston (drums, percussion)[10]
2018 2020 Balance Point Posi-Tone Quartet, with Melissa Aldana (tenor sax), Joe Martin (bass), Rudy Royston (drums)[1][11]
2020 2021 Open Sky Posi-Tone Most tracks trio, with Boris Kozlov (bass), Rudy Royston (drums, percussion); three tracks quartet, with Nicole Glover (tenor sax, soprano sax) added; one track quartet with Behn Gillece (vibraphone) added[12]
2023 2024 Good Company Posi-Tone Trio, with Ron Horton (trumpet), Paul Bollenback (guitar)[13][14]

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[15]
2023 Don Braden Earth Wind and Wonder Volume 2 (Self-released)[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c West, Michael J. (August 2020). "Collaboration Fuels Hirahara". DownBeat. Vol. 87, no. 8. p. 15.
  2. ^ a b c Chinen, Nate & Ratliff, Nate (January 5, 2015) "Albums from Art Hirahara and Death Grips". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b "Art Hirahara" Archived 2017-08-08 at the Wayback Machine. Posi-Tone Records. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  4. ^ 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. ^ "Noble Path". bandcamp.com. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  8. ^ "Libations & Meditations". bandcamp.com. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  9. ^ "Central Line". bandcamp.com. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  10. ^ "Sunward Bound". bandcamp.com. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  11. ^ "Balance Point". bandcamp.com. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  12. ^ "Open Sky". bandcamp.com. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  13. ^ Appelbaum, Larry (October 2024). "Art Hirahara: Good Company". DownBeat. Vol. 91, no. 10. p. 53.
  14. ^ "Good Company". bandcamp.com. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Simms-Burton, Michele L. (April 2019). "Something Blue: Maximum Enjoyment". DownBeat. Vol. 86, no. 4. p. 61.
  16. ^ "Witness to History". donbraden.bandcamp.com. Retrieved December 31, 2023.