Koichi Hirata

Introducing Koichi Hirata is the 2024 debut release from jazz guitarist Koichi Hirata. Hirata is a young, up-and-coming player who has established himself as a popular musician in the live Tokyo circuit, playing live often as a support musician or a leader at his own gigs and popular jazz jam sessions. His style is unadorned with a comfortably warm sound and style that immediately brings to mind the much-admired jazz guitarists of previous generations. ...

Two for the Road is a 2024 album from bassist Yuji Ito and guitarist Koichi Hirata, working as a duo here on their first collaboration. Both musicians are young, still in their 20s and 30s, yet their style, vocabulary, and tone speak of a maturity born of attentive listening, devotion, and playing experience. They fill the nine-track album with 58 minutes of beloved tunes from the standard jazz playbook and the ballad/swing/bop canon, mostly from the core 1950s and 60s jazz eras: ...