(日本語の説明も下にあります！）
It’s been three years but I finally put a video together! The tune is called 角を曲がれば (Kadowomagareba, or, If You Turn The Corner) – and the video is a collage of performances with wonderful musicians I’ve met here in Aomori. We’ve gathered from all over, different countries, even, and somehow managed to meet here and make some music -
After completing my teaching job and sitting back in front of the piano more often, I find myself hopeful that there will be more happiness and maybe even a little more live music in 2023.
Please enjoy Kadowomagareba!
Alto Saxophone - Raemon Khang
Tenor Saxophone - Hiromitsu Honami
Shamisen/Guitar - Aidan Morrison
Piano - Hanako Henty
Bass - Ryan Molloy
Drums - Hiroyuki Katamine
p.s.
The outdoor locations include Yagen Valley, Chijirihama, and Shimofuro Onsen. Some band members were also brave enough to humor me with a yukata-attire adventure to the ocean – with instruments in tow!
3年ぶりに活動再開して、ようやくビデオをまとめました! この曲は「角を曲がれば」です。ビデオは私が住む青森で出会った素晴らしいミュージシャンとのパフォーマンスのコラージュです。色々な国、いろんな場所から、集まってきたご縁で音楽を作ることができました–
教師の仕事を終えて、ピアノの前に座ることが多くなったので、2023 年にはもっと幸せなことが起こり、ライブ音楽がもう少し増えることを願っています。 「角を曲がれば」をお楽しみください！
アルトサックス - レイモン・カン
テナーサックス - 穂浪博光
三味線/ギター - エイダン・モリソン
ピアノ - ヘンティ 華子
ベース - ライアン・モロイ
ドラムズ - 片峰宏行
（屋外ロケ地は青森県の薬研渓谷、ちぢり浜、下風呂温泉など。 バンドメンバーの何人かは、楽器を海へ持って行って浴衣姿にもチャレンジしてくれました!）
It’s spring 2018 again. Back then (so long ago!) I was dreaming about lamplight, vocal duets, and gypsy jazz… What started as a simple recording session spontaneously became a live show with a lovely audience : ) I couldn’t have done it without the full support of my fellow writers at UM who so graciously helped collect lamps and scarves. And of course the amazing musicians!
I hope you enjoy this little distraction as much as I have in making it.
HH
Personnel:
Hanako Henty - original music, lyrics, & vocals
Charlie Christenson - vocals
Gary Lindsay - clarinet
Rosie Weiss - violin
Nicholas Petumenos - guitar
Diego Melgar - guitar
Paul Pandit - bass
Tom Kelley - session engineer
Mackenzie Karbon - camera
Carlos Mata-Alvarez - camera
Alex Brown - camera
Bryan Kennard - camera
Clint Bleil - camera
Lyrics:
Lately I’ve been quite in a tizzy,
My thoughts are all jumbled, my head is all dizzy,
What is this malaise? Do you think it’s just a temporary phase?
Wherever I turn you’re somehow beside me, even when I’m by myself with my thoughts.
I can’t say that I hate it but you’ve tied my poor heart into knots.
Yes I think that all your symptoms are a passing phase,
And for all those silly knots I’m certainly the one that you should blame.
But I’m afraid I find you equally addictive,
And since you never seem to act so vindictive of how I’m always getting in your way,
These are the feelings that make me say:
I’m a little distraction, I hope you don’t mind.
I can be a real nuisance yes, but you’re awfully kind.
Even if my great distress is just a great big lie,
When you fail to look my way I heave a great big sigh.
I hope you don’t mind,
I hope you don’t mind,
I hope you don’t mind,
I hope you don’t mind!
I’m a little distraction, I know it’s true.
But to really tell the truth you’re a distraction too!
And I’d like to point out the fact that
I think you’re sublime.
I hope you don’t mind,
I hope you don’t mind spending the time.
(solos)
I’m a little distraction, I really don’t mind. Are you sure about that?
I can be a real nuisance No! Yes, but you’re awfully kind. Hardly a nuisance.
Even if my great distress is just a great big lie, I know, I noticed that-
When you fail to look my way I heave a great big sigh. And it’s quite unnecessarily, because I
Really don’t mind, Oh look, it’s raining!
Really don’t mind, Oh gee I forgot my umbrella.
Really don’t mind, You wanna watch a movie?
Really don’t mind! Are you busy at 4?
You’re a little distraction, it’s certainly true.
But to really tell the truth I’m a distraction too/you’re a distraction too!
And I’d like to point out the fact that
I think you’re sublime/I think you’re sublime.
I hope you don’t mind/I really don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind spending,
I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind spending,
No I really don’t mind,
No I don’t mind spending the time/No I don’t mind spending the time.
No I don’t mind spending the time/No I don’t mind spending the time.
This video documents some of my recent travels in Aomori, Japan, and features my original composition entitled “Same Time and Place.”
Locations include the Shimokita Peninsula, Mutsu Bay, Mount Osore, Lake Towada, Sannai Maruyama, and Cape Shiriyazaki. Please watch in 1080p : )
Sometimes Valentines can be a very stressful holiday. In response to some of the social and commercial pressures I’ve felt around this time, one year I jotted these lyrics down into my notebook - as my heartfelt ode to single life. No matter what your personal status may be this time around, I hope you enjoy “Happy Singles Awareness Day!”
Today is Valentines, a famous day:
A day for consumerism, a day for play.
It’s only fun when you’ve got someone,
otherwise it’s sort of gray, just okay.
Luckily for me, I’m an optimist.
Luckily for me, I’m a tightwad with no dough in my pocket.
Luckily for me, there’s another day, a holiday, that no one seems to know about.
Happy Singles Awareness Day -
It’s the day after Valentines Day.
It’s the day when the chocolates sell cheap;
The roses are pretty and on sale.
Happy Singles Awareness Day -
It’s the day when the coffee shops empty.
It’s the day when you visit a friend
Whose heart has been broken by somebody else.
As for you, you wonder,
Should you join the fight?
But for now you celebrate the good life.
Buy the biggest, most expensive box.
Take all the heart-shaped ribbons off
And enjoy the premium assorted, discount chocolate delight.
Recorded in Spring 2017 with the University of Miami SJW Recording Ensemble
Featuring:
Hanako Henty, voice, music, & lyrics
Carlos Mata-Alvarez, tenor saxophone
Lucas Apostoleris, drums
Alex Brown, piano
Gabriela Gutierrez Perez, violin
Tom Kelley, clarinet
William Locke, cello
Hayden Mapel, trombone
Stefan Poost, video
Lowell Ringel, bass
Hannah Weiss, flute
“Cessation Tango” by Hanako Henty
EMMF summer 2013
Piano duet, 1 piano, 4 hands
Premiered at the Endless Mountains Music Festival as an encore following Santiago Rodriguez’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto.
During the three-week festival my mentor Santiago Rodriguez asked that I write a piece we could perform together. Inspired by the works of Piazzolla, Gardel, and Troilo, I wrote “Cessation Tango” emulating the style of the Argentine tango.
A selection from the Studio Jazz Writing concert "Sting Reimagined" featuring Madeleine Doris and Nanami Morikawa on vocals and Aaron Mutchler on flugelhorn.
Composed by Sting; Arranged by Hanako Henty
Gary Lindsay, conductor
Madeleine Doris and Nanami Morikawa, vocals
Horns:
Tom Kelley, soprano saxophone
Carlos Mata-Alvarez, tenor saxophone
Clint Bleil, bass clarinet
Mike Dudley, lead trumpet
Aaron Mutchler, flugelhorn
Eli Feingold, trombone
Rhythm Section:
Josh Bermudez, guitar
Hanako Henty, piano
Lowell Ringel, bass
Garrett Fracol, drums
Andrew Novoa, live engineer
Bill Longo, recording engineer
Mackenzie Karbon, cameras
Gary Lindsay, Producer
All Audio & Video Production by Hanako Henty
Recorded at The Frost School of Music December 8th, 2017
Aaron Mutchler, trumpet
Paul Rappolt, alto saxophone
Chris Thompson-Taylor, tenor saxophone
Derek Pyle, trombone
Dalton Yoder, guitar
Alex Brown, piano
Andre Bernier, keyboards
Koa Ho, electric bass
Lucas Apostoleris, drums
Murph Aucamp, Myles Higgins, percussion
Recorded at the Frost School of Music on November 7th, 2016
Audio and video production by Hanako Henty
Arrangement of “I Thought About You” by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer (1939) for Big Band
Read-Through/Recording session spring 2017
University of Miami Concert Jazz Band, featuring Keelan Dimick on piano
For more recordings and videos please click bellow:
“I’m convinced that music has the potential to heal and restore what makes us human. I don’t mean to elevate music to a semi-sacred status, but rather, to underline its ongoing relevance in our world today and provide a rationale for why I love what I do.”
Photo Credit: Stefan Poost
Recent events, projects, and other musings…