Jazz pianist Senri Oe will release his first-ever trio jazz album titled HMMM on September 20 on PND Records; the single from HMMM titled “Orange Desert,” will be released on September 4 digitally on iTunes, Amazon and all digital retailers.
Accompanied by bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer Ari Hoenig on six of Senri’s nine self-composed tracks, the album features Senri’s multitude of diverse musical explorations on HMMM. The track listing includes: “Re:Vision,” “Poignant Kisses,” “Freshening Up,” “The Look,” “Indoor Voices,” “Bikini,” “When Life Was A Pizza Party,” “Orange Desert” and “A Fireplace.”
HMMM will mark Senri’s sixth jazz album, following a remarkable career as a former J-Pop superstar of the 80’s and 90’s. Leaving his pop career behind him in 2008 to pursue his true dreams of becoming a jazz artist, Senri moved to New York to study at the New School for Jazz, and has since released five previous jazz albums: BOYS & GIRLS (2018), ANSWER JULY (2016), COLLECTIVE SCRIBBLE (2015), SPOOKY HOTEL (2013) and BOYS MATURE SLOW(2012).
Dedicated to his father, HMMM includes six trio tracks and three solo piano tracks, all infused with a swirl of emotions that Senri experienced during the previous month. The album features the highs of some of his most acclaimed live performances with Hoenig and Clohesy in Tokyo Blue Note and the Blue Note Hawaii; to the sorrowful parting and celebration of the life of his father. Album was recorded at 2nd Story Sound (NYC), and he locked out Sony Nogizaka Studio (Tokyo) for mixing and mastering it, but the outpouring of his energy and emotion was so intense from hearing of his father’s passing, that Senri completed the three solo piano tunes in thirty minutes before Hoenig and Clohesy have arrived.
“I feel like life is sometimes very hard, but when I think about it in a deeper way, like the album title says, Hmmm,” says Senri. He adds, “I’m the luckiest person in the world to be given that opportunity to make that final toast. In the weeks leading up to the recording, I was riding a rollercoaster of good and bad things and felt like I was in emotional limbo. I learned a lot about myself from my dad passing away. Life is tough, but you have to move forward. Life can also be more beautiful than you ever expected as you learn to ride. I make music to get fresh air, and I want people to think of me and listen to my music when they feel life is too tough to face.”
Senri’s song titles speak to the blend of introspection/reflection he brings to the collection. He intersperses his three brief, beautiful and graceful piano pieces – two interludes (“Freshening Up,” “When Life Was A Pizza Party”) and a postlude (the Christmas-themed “A Fireplace”) – amongst six lively gems that showcase Senri’s spirited, often lighthearted yet powerfully percussive trademark piano style, as he interacts with the dynamics-filled grooves created by Hoenig and Clohesy.
“Everything we’ve done on ‘Hmmm’ goes back to that emotional rollercoaster,” Senri says. “You can’t stop it, but you can find places in your life where you feel no tension and just relax and let things flow the way they are supposed to. Ari, Matt and I found this kind of place, exchanging very organic musical ideas throughout the shows and recording of the album. Once someone had a sustainable idea he could convey, the others would catch it and from that create some incredible, unexpected interplay. After a while, we had the power to believe in each other onstage, and that chemistry translated perfectly to the studio.”
Since his 2012 jazz album debut, Senri has long thrived on building relationships with other artists and creating fresh musical collaborations, as he produced and arranged a collaborative recording by Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer; recorded with renowned jazz vocal greats Sheila Jordan, Theo Bleckmann, Becca Stevens andLauren Kinhan of the Grammy winning vocal ensemble New York Voices.
Senri has performed at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, Blue Note NY, Blue Note Hawaii, Blue Note Tokyo, Vitello’s in Los Angeles, PianoForte in Chicago, and many more. Aside from Blue Note NY, he often performs at NYC venues such as Tomi Jazz, Zinc, the Jazz Gallery, Birdland, Soho House, Smalls and Dixon Place.
A multi-faceted singer, songwriter, actor and radio host in Japan, Senri is the recipient of a Japanese Grammy®, topped the Billboard charts, headlined stadiums, performed on TV soap operas, and had his hits used for major Japanese TV commercials.
