Art Hirahara (born 1971) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist and composer.

Life and career

Hirahara started playing the piano at the age of four. He studied at the

Oberlin Conservatory of Music The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music school, music conservatory of Oberlin College, a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the ...

and the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

. While at Oberlin, he had jazz lessons with pianist

Neal Creque Earl Neal Creque (April 13, 1940 – December 1, 2000) was an American organist and jazz composer, born in the Virgin Islands; he was based in the Cleveland area, was a professor at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and played frequently around ...

. He has been part of the jazz scene in New York since 2003, after moving there from the San Francisco Bay Area.Chinen, Nate & Ratliff, Nate (January 5, 2015
"Albums from Art Hirahara and Death Grips"
''The New York Times''. Hirahara's debut album, ''Edge of This Earth'', was released in 2000. In 2011

Posi-Tone Records Posi-Tone Records is an American jazz record label founded by Marc Free, a producer and musician who runs the company with engineer Nick O'Toole. The label's first five albums were issued in 1995. The roster includes trombonist Steve Davis, saxop ...

released Hirahara's ''Noble Path'', a trio album with Yoshi Waki (bass), and Dan Aran (drums).Micallef, Ken (August 2011) "Art Hirahara – Noble Path". ''Down Beat''. p. 70. His next Posi-Tone album, ''Libations & Meditations'' from 2015, was a trio recording with bassist Linda Oh (bass) and drummer John Davis."Art Hirahara"
. Posi-Tone Records. Retrieved March 27, 2015. 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.

Playing style

According to Nate Chinen at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Hirahara "brings a broad base of knowledge to his enterprise: electronic composition, West African music, Balinese

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

, ndmultiple strains of the avant-garde".

Discography

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

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirahara, Art 1971 births American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Oberlin Conservatory of Music alumni California Institute of the Arts alumni 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians Posi-Tone Records artists Travis Sullivan's Björkestra members