Libations & Meditatons (feat. Linda Oh & John Davis)

Well-traveled sideman Art Hirahara came up through the West Coast jazz community, eventually landing in New York, where he has played in a dizzying array of projects. Here joined on his breakthrough third album as a leader by bassist Linda Oh and drummer John Davis, the pianist zeroes in on a broad but modernist brand of bebop in standout original compositions like “The Looking Glass,” “Father’s Song,” and “With Two Ice Cubes.” He rounds things out with “Only Child” by Bill Evans (who's an obvious touchstone) and a slow take on the traditional Japanese song “Karatachi No Hana.”