Patrick Shiroishi – “Tule Lake Like Yesterday”

An affecting and deeply rooted album from Patrick Shiroishi surfaces today. The saxophonist had created an album inspired by his grandfather’s experiences in U.S. internment camps with Descension, an anguished and rightfully angry album beset with noise and howls of hurt. Hidemi is a follow-up to that album, an exploration of his grandfather’s experiences once he was out of the camps. Here Shiroishi doubles and triples himself, creating ensembles of his sax work, layering harmonies in exuberant and dissonant squalls. The album is named after the grandfather in question and is just as understandably emotional as its predecessor.

In an accompanying text, Shiroishi “explains the Japanese concept of ‘gaman,’ which means to endure the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity, or simply put, to bite your tongue.” It’s a chilling, profound passage in which the history of Japanese-Americans have had to “gaman” with Shiroishi ultimately stating that “We can no longer ‘gaman.’ We must be loud and speak up, so what our grandparents and ancestors went through will not be forgotten or taken for granted.” The new album is out October 29th, and you can listen in to the dizzying “Tule Lake Like Yesterday” below.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.