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Gig review: Jeon Jeduk and Park Juwon at Pizza Express

Jeon Jeduk
Jeon Jeduk (photo: KCCUK)

What can one say about a pair of such flawless musicians? Jeon Jeduk, blind since birth, has been compared with Toots Thielemans and Stevie Wonder; Park Juwon… I’m not sure who he’s been compared with, but as I listened to his set I was reminded of the stunning album Passion Grace and Fire by guitarists John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola and Paco de Lucía. And as it happened, Park confessed that Paco de Lucia was one of his idols, which explained the Latin flair to his playing.

Park Juwon
Park Juwon (photo: KCCUK)

If you were looking for any Koreanness in this gig you would have been disappointed. This was just superlative music-making: Jeon’s first set was melody-focussed (including versions of Summertime and Englishman in New York); Park’s was flamenco oriented; and when the two came together the feelgood warmth was turned up a notch further. The fact that they finished with a version of Bobby Hebb’s Sunny (with Jeon taking a turn on vocals) seemed to sum up the evening. It was nice that they stuck around afterwards to chat with the audience and sign CDs, sealing that feeling of warmth.

The full band play the third set
The full band play the third set (photo: KCCUK)

Jeon Jeduk and Park Juwon performed at Pizza Express Soho on Wednesday 27 September 2017 as part of K-Music 2017.

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