MASABUMI KIKUCHI - Hanamichi: The Final Studio Recording
Red Hook Records 1001
Masabumi Kikuchi (piano)
Recorded December 2013
This is an extraordinary , and extraordinarily beautiful, recording from a pianist who perhaps was sadly neglected in his lifetime and yet over a long career forged an original style all his own. Born out of a stubborn determination to do things his own way he forged ahead, often dissatisfied with his own playing, always chasing that elusive element that he felt was missing from his music. He had many admirers along the way, and was championed by the late great drummer, Paul Motian who also heard the quest, struggle and originality in Kikuchi's music, and hiring him for gigs where others wouldn't.
In a long career, Kikuchi was born in Japan in 1939, the pianist played with Lionel Hampton and Sonny Rollins while still a teenager, and made his recording debut in 1960 with Toshiko Akiyoshi and Charlie Mariano. In the seventies he was associated with Gil Evans and Elvin Jones, dabbling in electronic keyboards and synthesizers along the way. However, as we hear on this astonishing recording, it his piano playing that will mark him out as one of the unsung greats.
Having spent the majority of his life searching for his own voice on the piano, and what he described as ‘floating sound and harmonies’, he seems to have found it towards the end of his life, and his final recordings are a more than adequate testimony to Kikuchi's dedication to his craft. Three albums stand out in his discography, totally original and all very different, two for ECM Records, Sunrise and Black Orpheus and this final studio recording released on a new label founded by former ECM producer, Sun Chung.
Chung had been trying to get into Masabumi into the studio sometime, but the pianist's health and personal life frustrated numerous attempts until this remarkable album that was recorded over two days in December, 2013. With musch of his later work leaning towards freely improvised pieces, Sun Chung persuaded to play some standards, and these quiet and introspective musings on familiar material are nothing short of masterful.
The opening piece, 'Ramona' is a little heard composition from 1928 by Mabel Wayne, and once a big hit, is transformed by Kikuchi, with a slow tempo and dramatic use of space that transfixes the listener allowing the melody to evolve express itself at a leisurely pace. There are two outstanding and remarkably different takes of 'My Favourite Things' recorded on different days and displaying a very different approach to this familiar theme.
Kikuchi 's dramatic use of space is much in evidence, and this is what brings such a freshness to these performances. How many pianists would dare to play these pieces at these tempos and still sound so original and bring something new to the material? This Kikuchi also does to his own tender 'Little Abi', dedicated to his young daughter, in a reading that is very different to that heard on Black Orpheus, a live solo album recorded on 26th October, 2012 and released posthumously by ECM. However, the most remarkable piece and which reveals the most about the pianist's quest to find his own path is 'Summertime'. Taking Gershwin's grand theme, he molds the music his own unique way, retaining the grandeur of the composer's operatic intent, and bringing forth subtle phrases and nuances that speak of new and highly original ways to play this well loved piece.
It is perhaps ironic that after a lifetime chasing what many never achieve, Kikuchi with his final recordings truly found his voice, and this excellent album can be viewed as a fitting testament to a true original. Indispensable listening to anyone interested in solo piano playing , and indeed the art of communication through creative improvisation.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Red Hook Records 1001
Masabumi Kikuchi (piano)
Recorded December 2013
This is an extraordinary , and extraordinarily beautiful, recording from a pianist who perhaps was sadly neglected in his lifetime and yet over a long career forged an original style all his own. Born out of a stubborn determination to do things his own way he forged ahead, often dissatisfied with his own playing, always chasing that elusive element that he felt was missing from his music. He had many admirers along the way, and was championed by the late great drummer, Paul Motian who also heard the quest, struggle and originality in Kikuchi's music, and hiring him for gigs where others wouldn't.
In a long career, Kikuchi was born in Japan in 1939, the pianist played with Lionel Hampton and Sonny Rollins while still a teenager, and made his recording debut in 1960 with Toshiko Akiyoshi and Charlie Mariano. In the seventies he was associated with Gil Evans and Elvin Jones, dabbling in electronic keyboards and synthesizers along the way. However, as we hear on this astonishing recording, it his piano playing that will mark him out as one of the unsung greats.
Having spent the majority of his life searching for his own voice on the piano, and what he described as ‘floating sound and harmonies’, he seems to have found it towards the end of his life, and his final recordings are a more than adequate testimony to Kikuchi's dedication to his craft. Three albums stand out in his discography, totally original and all very different, two for ECM Records, Sunrise and Black Orpheus and this final studio recording released on a new label founded by former ECM producer, Sun Chung.
Chung had been trying to get into Masabumi into the studio sometime, but the pianist's health and personal life frustrated numerous attempts until this remarkable album that was recorded over two days in December, 2013. With musch of his later work leaning towards freely improvised pieces, Sun Chung persuaded to play some standards, and these quiet and introspective musings on familiar material are nothing short of masterful.
The opening piece, 'Ramona' is a little heard composition from 1928 by Mabel Wayne, and once a big hit, is transformed by Kikuchi, with a slow tempo and dramatic use of space that transfixes the listener allowing the melody to evolve express itself at a leisurely pace. There are two outstanding and remarkably different takes of 'My Favourite Things' recorded on different days and displaying a very different approach to this familiar theme.
Kikuchi 's dramatic use of space is much in evidence, and this is what brings such a freshness to these performances. How many pianists would dare to play these pieces at these tempos and still sound so original and bring something new to the material? This Kikuchi also does to his own tender 'Little Abi', dedicated to his young daughter, in a reading that is very different to that heard on Black Orpheus, a live solo album recorded on 26th October, 2012 and released posthumously by ECM. However, the most remarkable piece and which reveals the most about the pianist's quest to find his own path is 'Summertime'. Taking Gershwin's grand theme, he molds the music his own unique way, retaining the grandeur of the composer's operatic intent, and bringing forth subtle phrases and nuances that speak of new and highly original ways to play this well loved piece.
It is perhaps ironic that after a lifetime chasing what many never achieve, Kikuchi with his final recordings truly found his voice, and this excellent album can be viewed as a fitting testament to a true original. Indispensable listening to anyone interested in solo piano playing , and indeed the art of communication through creative improvisation.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
