Since the release of her trio album 'Makiko' (Enja, 2006), Makiko Hirabayashi has received critical acclaim both in Europe where she resides, and in her home country, Japan. The freshness of both her compositions and the trio's vibrant interplay has caught the ears of many listeners around the world.
The trio, featuring drummer/percussionist Marilyn Mazur (Miles Davis Group 85-89, Jan Garbarek Group 91-05) and bassist Klavs Hovman, has been her main focus in the recent years, where she established her unique voice through Performances at international jazz festivals and venues around Europe and Japan.
Makiko Hirabayashi was born in Tokyo where she started playing classical music on the piano at the age of 4. Spending 5 years of her childhood in Hong Kong, a cultural melting point at the time, has had a lasting impact on her life. At age 20, she won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied for 3 years, absorbing the language of jazz. Since 1990, she has been based in Copenhagen, Denmark, collaborating with numerous musicians both on the jazz scene and the world music scene. Her multicultural background and musical diversity is reflected in her music. Elements of jazz, classical music, Far Eastern music and Nordic sound are all moulded in an uncontrived fashion into an intriguing, compelling sound of her own.
Personnel: Makiko Hirabayashi (piano), Klavs Hovman (bass), Marilyn Mazur (drums, percussion), Jakob Buchanan (trumpet, fluegelhorn - 3,4,7,11)
