Hirabayashi Makiko Gifts

Gifts--recorded with the Weavers quartet--serves as a deeply personal musical memoir.

Gifts marks the tenth self-produced album by the Tokyo-born pianist and composer Makiko, who has been based in Copenhagen for over 30 years. Following her previous trio album, Meteora, which drew inspiration from the monastic retreat of the same name in northwestern Greece, Gifts--recorded with the Weavers quartet--serves as a deeply personal musical memoir.

Raised in Tokyo and Hong Kong, Makiko received a classical instrumental education before discovering her love for jazz at the Berklee College of Music in the USA. In 2023, now an internationally acclaimed musician, Makiko received a composition commission for the Handel Festival in Halle/Saale, which sparked a musical flashback. During Makiko's childhood, her mother was involved as a choir singer in the annual performances of the "Messiah." On this album, the reference to Handel symbolizes not only musicianship as a gift but also its transformative power.