In a strong line-up for this year’s K-music festival, this is the one that I’m looking forward to the most, featuring performers who don’t regularly play together.
K-music 2023: Sun-Mi Hong + Hyelim Kim
Drummer Sun Mi Hong, acclaimed for her sensational performance with her quintet at last year’s K-Music Festival, is set to make a highly anticipated return to K-Music 2023. Following her debut with the album Third Page: Resonance under the UK Edition label, she returns with an extraordinary quartet comprising renowned jazz vocalist Song Yi Jeon, esteemed pianist Gee Hye Lee, and daegeum player Hyelim Kim.
Amsterdam-based Sun Mi Hong has established herself as a respected figure in the European jazz scene, earning accolades such as winning the SENA Dutch Jazz Competition in 2018 and receiving the prestigious Edison Award in 2021 for her album A Self-Strewn Portrait. Basel-based jazz vocalist and composer Song Yi Jeon has shared the stage with a five-time Grammy Award winner Dianne Reeves at the EFG London Jazz Festival. She has honed her signature “east meets west” sound at the Berklee College of Music as the inaugural Quincy Jones CJ&E fellow, where she was also awarded the Billboard Endowed Award. She has played at many clubs/festivals including Blue Note NY, the Jazz Gallery NYC, the Falcon, Bimhuis Amsterdam and Offbeat Jazz Festival Basel to name a few, recently receiving praise for her latest album Home in collaboration with the guitarist Vinicius Gomes. Pianist Gee Hye Lee, who studied under Paul Schwarz in Stuttgart, has been recognized with awards at the Baden-Württemberg Art Foundation Competition and has performed at renowned festivals including Jazz Festival Ascona and JAZZOPEN. London-based composer and daegum soloist Hyelim Kim brings a unique blend of innovative approaches and Korean traditional music, having performed at notable events such as the EFG London Jazz Festival and Melbourne Women’s Festival. She also premiered a daegum concertino with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris.
A collaboration between improvisation and traditional Korean music, this performance marks the first time these four accomplished improvisers, active in various parts of Europe, will come together to showcase their vibrant fusion of jazz and Korean music.
With a quartet consisting of Amsterdam-based Sun Mi Hong; Basel-based jazz vocalist and composer Song Yi Jeon; German-based pianist Gee Hye Lee and London-based composer and daegum soloist Hyelim Kim, prepare to be enchanted by the harmonious interplay of these exceptional musicians as they create a tapestry of captivating melodies and rhythms that transcend boundaries and celebrate the rich diversity of musical expression.
(automatically generated) We didn’t review this event, but Jazzwise did, here.