Universal Classics & Jazz – UCCJ-2150 – 2018
Hakuei Kim: piano, Neovichord, synthesizers
After releasing “Break the Ice” in 2011, the pianist Hakuei Kim has now published his second piano solo album, strengthening and enriching the lexicon of his musical soliloquy as further proof of an artistic development constantly evolving.
Born and raised in Japan, but of Japanese-Korean ancestry, Kim formed musically in Sidney Conservatory of Music where he took a deeper look into the study of jazz and improvisation under the aegis of pianist Mike Nock. Subsequently settling down in Tokyo, Kim established his activity basis in the Japanese metropolis confirming himself as one of the most talented and appreciated pianists of Japanese jazz scene.
To follow the many threads that make up this multi-faceted album we could ideally divide its tracks in three big bunches, gathering them together for approach and style.
The first one contains personal revisitations of renowned standards on which Kim bestows more solid rhythmic frameworks (Take Five), daring melodic decompositions crossed by threatening storm clouds (Moon River) or dynamic reinterpretations supplied of angular syncopations (What is This Thing Called Love). In addition to these tunes, we find more modern tributes and influences provided with a wider style attitude as happens with the reworks of A Lotus on Irish Streams, an old and evoking composition by Mahavishnu Orchestra; the regular sea flow of The land of the Long White Cloud, penned by his mentor Mike Nock; or the popular Australian anthem Waltzing Matilda.
The second bunch presents the most experimental flair of Kim displayed through free improvisations (Improvisation “N and M”) and Baroque-tinged compositions (The Concert) in which the pianist makes extensive use of synthesizers and the innovative Neovichord, a semi-acoustic and updated reinventation of the ancient clavichord.
The third and last bunch is made up of Kim’s original compositions revealing his deep sensitivity and the stylistic synthesis of his music in which is poured an inspired and sincere love for open melodies (Delayed Resolution), leaving room for explorations based upon rhythmic ostinatos (The Streets of Detroit) and intense narrations in music (A Night in the Castle Sea).
In Resonance, Kim runs through the countless influences he drawn inspiration from during his music apprenticeship so far, showing us the cosmopolitan and omnivorous music vision of a comprehensive artist caught in one of his most creative moments.
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