Exploring new musical realms by blending classical harp with improvisation, jazz, pop, and originals
Praised for their “engaging jazz…with scintillating plays of light and subtle colors” by DownBeat Magazine, Pacific Harp Project’s emergence on the jazz scene has surprised listeners with a unique sonic experience. PHP was founded in 2014 and released their eponymous debut album in December, 2015 with a sold-out concert. The album won the Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Instrumental Album of the Year and received wide critical acclaim. PHP has performed throughout Hawaii at such venues as Blue Note Hawaii, Hawaii Theatre, Doris Duke Theatre, Atherton Performing Arts Studio, Monarch Room at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Pacific Club, Orvis Auditorium, and Medici's Jazz Club.
PHP launched when Megan Bledsoe Ward, a classically-trained harpist, teamed up with acclaimed jazz musicians Noel Okimoto (vibraphone), Todd Yukumoto (saxophone), Jon Hawes (bass), and Allan Ward (drums). Bledsoe Ward approaches jazz harp from a new perspective, leaning on her experience in classical performing, composing, and arranging. CD Hotlist notes: “When she ventures into the very dangerous territory of arranging classical pieces in a jazz style, she comes out the other side not just unscathed but triumphant.” The result is an exciting and innovative collaboration in which the musicians delight in playing together, captivating audiences at each performance.
www.pacificharpproject.com
facebook.com/pacificharpproject | instagram.com/pacificharpproject | twitter.com/pacharpproject
Photos by Lester Miyashiro
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Reviews
The individual virtuosity of the PHP players is most admirable; that the album sings, if you will, owes everything to the passion and commitment the musicians bring to the music. |
The harp is not a visitor, but a card-carrying member of the jazz ethos...The music feels like a living, breathing organism. |
[A] lithely swinging mix of originals and takes on classical thoughts. |
This quartet swings powerfully and Ward herself writes beautiful melodies...Highly recommended to all collections. |
This 12-track gem will entrance, enchant, mesmerize and hypnotize you into their web of jazz waltzes, folk originals and pop flourishes. It’s different. It’s stimulating. I love it. And it’s good for you. |
The Pacific Harp Project is something rare, unique and enjoyable...Definitely check these guys out. |
Contemporary instrumental music that doesn't fit conveniently into easy pigeon holes, Ward and the gang set sail quite nicely with a set that delivers high quality chops without any self consciousness or ego. |
Pacific Harp Project definitely begs for further attention. Each time the listener replays the album, a new discovery in made. |
Videos
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"Loops" by Noel Okimoto
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"Imagine" by John Lennon, arr. Megan Bledsoe Ward
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"Fantaisie" by Camille Saint-Saëns, arr. Megan Bledsoe Ward
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"Crow Pass" by Megan Bledsoe Ward
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Sample Tracks
| Lily Lou by Megan Bledsoe Ward (mp3) |
| The Vastness by Noel Okimoto (mp3) |
| Un Sospiro by Franz Liszt, arr. Megan Bledsoe Ward (mp3) |
