Keigo Hirakawa Trio at Degage Jazz Cafe

“And Then There Were Three” An Adventurous Jazz Piano Trio Plays Selections From Their Critically Acclaimed Album

Pianist Keigo Hirakawa is joined by bassist Eddie Brookshire and drummer Fenton Sparks on April 22nd, 2016 at 7:30pm. 

The Keigo Hirakawa Trio is a hard hitting, hard swinging, jazz piano trio that reach the highest level of improvisational artistry. Hirakawa’s complex rhythmic and harmonic improvisation, Eddie Brookshire’s exploration of inside and outside sounds, and Fenton Sparks’s spontaneous reactions make each trio performance an adventurous endeavor.  Acclaimed jazz pianist Stephen Scott describes Hirakawa’s playing as "full of inventiveness and a sense of adventure, creativeness and voracious angularity, aggressiveness, and jaggedness, passion and swing." Jazz critic Mark Sullivan of AllAboutJazz.com characterizes the ensemble as “a true trio, not just piano plus two accompanists.” After seeing their show at Gilly’s in Ohio, legendary jazz guitarist George Benson even remarked “I had to come to Dayton to hear real jazz!” 

Freshly returning from their East Coast Tour, the Keigo Hirakawa Trio will appear at Degage Jazz Cafe in Maumee, Ohio on Friday, April 22nd. The Trio is celebrating the anniversary of their trio album, “And Then There Were Three,” released in April 2015. The concert at Degage Jazz Cafe will feature a number of selections from this album, as well as time-honored jazz standards.

Hirakawa’s musical pedigree is impressive.   A jazz pianist with a unique sense of expressiveness and rhythm section interaction, he brings highly personal and energetic style of improvisation to ensembles.  He distinguishes himself with his articulate use of harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary and his leadership style on the bandstand.  Based in Midwest, Hirakawa can be heard throughout the US and internationally.  He has worked/toured with Donald Byrd, Noah Preminger, JD Allen, Bob Moses, Greg Abate, Bobby Lavell, Allen Vizzutti, Eddie Bayard, and Richie Barshay.  Trained in New York City and at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, he was a student of many world-renowned jazz artists, including Danilo Perez, Stephen Scott, Harold Danko, Alan Pasqua, Ran Blake, Cecil McBee, Ralph Peterson, Jerry Bergonzi, Donald Byrd, John McNeil, George Garzone, Bob Moses, and Walt Weiskopf. 

Hirakawa was the acting director of the Cornell University Jazz Ensembles in 2000-2001, during which time he welcomed Donald Byrd, Jimmy Heath, Wycliffe Gordon, Terell Stafford, Vincent Herring, and Joe Chambers onto the stage as guest soloists.  He is a passionate clinician and educator, on faculty at the University of Dayton.  Hirakawa’s trio features Eddie Brookshire, a veteran bassist who has performed/recorded with Elvin Jones, Rusty Bryant, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Drew Jr., Johnny Lytle, and David "Fathead" Newman; and Fenton Sparks whose resume includes performances with Bill Cunliffe, Dean Sims (Ohio Players), Nerek Roth Patterson, and the ITI recording artists’ ‘Bout Time Band.

The Keigo Hirakawa Trio will be appearing on April 22nd at 7:30PM at the Degage Jazz Cafe at 301 River Rd, Maumee, OH 43537.  Please visit degagejazzcafe.com or call 419-794-8205.