Get A Grip Idle Hands

• 1 Show Of Hands 04:08
• 2 Soho Down 04:19
• 3 Get A Grip 06:04
• 4 Tomorrow Blues 06:58
• 5 Presence 05:20
• 6 Memphis Redux 06:13
• 7 The Great Quarterly 04:53
• 8 Beacon Of Hope 06:09
• 9 Monk, Bunk and Vice Versa 06:06
• 10 Dream Of Life 04:58
• Total Runtime 55:08

Info for Get A Grip

Not at all an Eric Idle tribute band. But as always with anything issued by Posi-Tone you gotta look on the bright side of life. What you cop a load of first is vibes flavoured sax in the main melodic blend on top of the rhythm section. The idiom is pretty laid back straightahead. Back again these Idle Hands make generous use of the very handsome tenor saxophone sound emanating from saxophonist Donny McCaslin (instead of Sam Dillon on an earlier outing). And in the vibist role label favourite easy-going multiple mallet wielder Behn Gillece is bright as a button. If you know the label you will recognise most of the names. The great Mingus ghost band bassist Boris Kozlov for instance is to hand. And it's the superb Art Hirahara on piano - in London at the moment with Stacey Kent. On highly supportive and occasionally bluesy guitar Will Bernard has his moment on 'Dream Of Life' - and that fine drummer EJ Strickland (instead of Donald Edwards on Solid Moments which came out in 2020) is at the kit. All highly likeable but it's far too easy going. And the tunes are simply warm and too guileless, no nonsense but none really stick out. ''Badass'' is not a word in the official Idle Hands band dictionary of dictionaries. Pity really and the perils of a band that goes under a generic name rather than an individual's. There was us wanting to give it 5 stars. Foiled again. But really it's just a good pal of a record you can always rely on and if it wasn't an inanimate digital object probably take fishing or get sloshed with if your favourite non-league side happened against all odds to win the cup. You can sound too nice.

Will Bernard, guitar
Behn Gillece, vibraphone
Donny McCaslin, tenor saxophone
Art Hirahara, piano
Boris Kozlov, bass
EJ Strickland, drums

Art Hirahara
is a jazz keyboardist and composer based in New York, NY. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Art moved to New York in 2003 to be challenged by its pool of world-class musicians. Here he has honed his craft, performing in a wide range of musical situations ranging from straight ahead standards to time cycle-based progressive jazz to free improvisation. From the traditional to the avant-garde, Art has found a sound of his own that cuts across genres and boundaries.

Art began his training in music at the age of four, studying with Sue Shannon, an unconventional classical piano teacher who taught improvisation and composition from the earliest stages of musical development. This provided the foundation for his awakening to jazz during his studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he earned a degree in Electronic and Computer Music. During his junior year, he began jazz piano studies with the Cleveland jazz giant, Neal Creque.

He then continued at California Institute of the Arts, where he was mentored by David Roitstein, Charlie Haden and Wadada Leo Smith. It was there that he immersed himself in world music, focusing on West African drumming and dance, Balinese gamelan and North Indian tabla. After his move to New York, Art studied at the Banff Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music program with Dave Douglas in 2004.

Art has had the privilege to perform with Stacey Kent, Freddy Cole, Akira Tana, Rufus Reid, Don Braden, Roseanna Vitro, Dave Douglas, Vincent Herring, Victor Lewis, Travis Sullivan s Bjorkestra, Jim Black, Jenny Scheinman, Greg Cohen, Fred Ho, Sean Nowell, royal hartigan and Hafez Modirzadeh. He has performed around the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East and extensively around the United States.

In New York, he has played at the city ’s premier venues, including Birdland, Smalls, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Jazz Standard and 55 Bar. In addition to performing, Art is an educator. He has taught master classes both domestically and abroad. He taught at the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory and was a performing member of NY PopsEd, an educational organization focusing on bringing music to elementary and secondary schools.

Art ’s piano and compositional sound are an amalgamation of the varied musical influences he has studied and the wide range of leaders he has worked for. Art is constantly seeking new situations to challenge his musicality. Most recently has worked as a producer for recordings and musical director for various artists of different genres.

This album contains no booklet.