“As I listened I got really inspired ...
your improvisations are wonderful;
your orchestration and arrangements work great.
Well, I’m inspired to write some more, too...”

— pianist-composer Chick Corea
(after hearing a concert performance of Paul Hofmann)

“Hofmann comes from the Evans/Jarrett/Corea school
[and] has an almost encyclopaedic knowledge
of jazz history...Hofmann’s themes are as elliptical
as some of Corea’s best.”

— John Kelman, “All About Jazz” (allaboutjazz.com)

“Hello!” from Paul Hofmann

President, MHR Records
Senior Instructor, Jazz Piano and Composition
Eastman Community Music School
Eastman School of Music

Greetings! Welcome to the online world of MHR Records.

Here you’ll find links to the complete MHR catalog; to articles, essays and reviews; to biographical information about the artists; to sound clips from each of our releases; and to any contact information (ordering, booking, all other correspondence) you might need.

A brief history of the label:

1990 marked the year I recorded my initial compact disc (still available), a solo piano program of jazz ballads entitled “When You Dream.” Released a year later as the first offering from MHR Records (‘MHR’ denoting the three primary elements of Western music: melody, harmony and rhythm), this marked the label’s commencement.

For over twenty years, MHR Records has existed as a primary outlet for my piano playing, composing and arranging. Musically, the projects have been quite varied, consisting of everything from solo piano performances to duets to jazz trio, quartet and quintet arrangements, and have featured some remarkable sidemen. I remain inspired by the wonderful contributions of each fine musician (please go to MHR Artists & Catalog to read their biographies).

An identifiable packaging style is also something we’ve tried to keep consistent. In this vein, I feel fortunate to have worked with several very fine recording engineers and art designers — in particular, Keith Kavanaugh’s wonderful work at BauWau Design.

There are seventeen full-length digitally-recorded projects available in MHR’s catalog, including my latest release — “Dialogues in Rhythm,” an all-improvised duet album with the great drummer Tommy Ruskin. “The Flood and the Rainbow” is an imporovised fantasia relating to the flood story from the Bible. “Letter to Sarah” is a musical birthday present to my daughter, and “The Pulse,” a tribute to my late friend and colleague Bob Stata. “New Inventions” is a set of twenty-four solo piano improvisations which have been incorporated into a fun composition class I teach at Eastman.

Mid-2015 will see the official release of my most comprehensive recording project: a three-disc series of duets with the brilliant young pianist Chris Ziemba entitled “Who Knows?”. We had a ball with this music, and information is included throughout the website for anyone who wishes to learn more about the album.

We’ve also included links to some of my writings (go to Articles and Essays by Paul Hofmann) that I hope you’ll find thought-provoking. These words represent a good cross-section of my thoughts on various musical subjects, and more will be added as time permits. My thanks to JAM and The Jazz Singer magazines for granting permission to reproduce many of these essays here.

For those of you unfamiliar with us (especially the catalog), I trust you might be able to take a few moments to browse the site! If possible, download some audio clips from the pages which link each album; if not, please enjoy what you read and see.

All of your comments are important to me, and I look forward to hearing from many of you. My sincere gratitude to all of you loyal listeners who have been supportive of my music for so long. For information about “Escapade” and “Interconnection,” the first two Bob Sneider / Paul Hofmann duo recordings, as well as “Out of the Darkness” (a Bob Sneider date I had fun playing on) and “Fallen Angel,” our first film noir project (led by Bob and vibraphonist Joe Locke), please go directly to Sons of Sound. For information about “Nocturne for Ava” (our second film noir project) and “Serve and Volley” (our third duo disc), please go to Origin Records.

With every good wish,

Contact MHR Records at
Paul Hofmann

99 Westerloe Avenue • Rochester, New York 14620
phone: (585) 319-9079

Report website problems to
BauWau Design

Photography by Kelley Yost

©2000-2014 MHR Records
All rights reserved