[ April the 16th,2021 release via Red Hook Records: Masabumi Kikuchi – Hanamichi ]

release date: 16.04.2021 via Red Hook Records

“[Kikuchi] was continually searching for his ‘voice’ that he couldn’t articulate with words. It wasn’t until a few years before he died that his ‘voice’ found him!” – Gary Peacock

Six revelatory tracks by the late Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi are featured on Hanamichi, the debut release by Red Hook Records, due out April 16, 2021, in digital, LP, and CD formats available at https://ingroov.es/hanamichi.  Recorded over a two-day New York session on a magnificent Steinway, the music marks a divergence from the mostly free improvising Poo (Kikuchi’s nickname), who died at age 75 in 2015, practiced during his final years. Kikuchi’s radiant playing sparkles with melodic exploration and expression in renditions of lesser-known tunes and popular standards.

The final studio recording from the late Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, Hanamichi is the culmination of a lifetime of musical exploration and discovery