Open Sky

“Open Sky”

(Posi-Tone)

Pianist Art Hirahara’s Open Sky offered a refreshing dose of jazz optimism when it was released in 2021, back when the world was still held captive by the pandemic. Not only was the music full-hearted and uplifting — with melodies that seemed to ride, effortlessly, the winds of jazz and contemporary classical — but the tone of the album was one of purpose-driven accomplishment, the sense of something major being achieved. The album’s title track is emblematic of this “we’ll get through it” attitude. It is triumphant and joyous, but not without its moments of tension and release. Hirahara, vibraphonist Behn Gillece, drummer Rudy Royston and bassist Boris Kozlov are a unified force in evoking the song’s powerful emotional message, employing wide-open harmonics, ringing chords and ascending lines to paint a picture of high spirits and limitless bliss.