| Art Hirahara | |
| Instrument: | Piano |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Occupation: | Musician, composer |
| Years Active: | 1990s–present |
| Website: | arthirahara.com |
Art Hirahara (born 1971) is an American jazz pianist and composer.
Hirahara started playing the piano at the age of four. He studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the California Institute of the Arts. While at Oberlin, he had jazz lessons with pianist Neal Creque. He has been part of the jazz scene in New York since 2003, after moving there from the San Francisco Bay Area.[1]
Hirahara's debut album, Edge of This Earth, was released in 2000. In 2011 Posi-Tone Records released Hirahara's Noble Path, a trio album with Yoshi Waki (bass), and Dan Aran (drums).[2] His next Posi-Tone album, Libations & Meditations from 2015, was a trio recording with bassist Linda Oh (bass) and drummer John Davis.[3] [4]
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.[5]
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".
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.
| 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)[6] | |
| 2021* | Open Sky | Posi-Tone |
| Year recorded | Leader | Title | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999* | Hollywood Wedding | Cadence Jazz | ||
| 2012 | Tell Me | |||
| 2013* | The Kung-Fu Masters | Posi-Tone | ||
| 2013* | Otonowa | Vegamusic | ||
| 2014* | Odd Man Out | Posi-Tone | ||
| 2014* | Ride | Posi-Tone | ||
| 2016* | Stars Across the Ocean | Vegamusic | ||
| 2019* | Vegamusic | |||
| 2019? | Maximum Enjoyment | Posi-Tone[7] | ||
| 2023 | Earth Wind and Wonder Volume 2 | (Self-released)[8] |