Legacy

Legacy

For thirty years, Hiroshima has remained very much in the game. And they've done so by sticking to that original philosophy of blending genres to map out and promote unlikely artistic and cultural connections. After three decades, in a time when the globe grows smaller and more connected by the day, and sounds from all over that globe can be found in almost any piece of contemporary music, it appears that the world may finally be catching up with Hiroshima.<P>The band offers a retrospective of those early years with the release of <b><i>Legacy</b></i>. The album features eleven songs from the first ten years of Hiroshima's prolific history - each re-recorded by the band's current six-member lineup with assistance from four guest artists. At the heart of <b><i>Legacy</b></i> - and of the Hiroshima experience in general - is the convergence of Eastern and Western music, as forged by saxophonist Dan Kuramoto and koto player June Kuramoto, the founding members whose joint commitment to genre bending and cross-cultural innovation is as solid today as it was on that first recording.<P>Despite its retrospective sensibilities, <b><i>Legacy</b></i> is by no means a swan song for Hiroshima. Rather, it's bookend to thirty years of innovative music, and a promise of more great things to come. "I would like to think that there's a heart and a voice within this music that doesn't go out of style," says Kuramoto. "These songs are as fresh and meaningful to us today as they were the first time they were recorded. They're not of a particular genre. They are our musical heart. They shift gears from Japanese to jazz to salsa to R&B and beyond. Throughout each piece, you can hear the echoes of all the experiences that have influenced us along the way."