Song Yi Jeon nonet - Bimhuis Amsterdam

www.bimhuis.nl

Richly varied ensemble led by vocal wonder from Korea. ‘Her voice is a revelation’ (de Volkskrant).

With her flexible voice and lavish compositions, Song Yi Jeon was a surprising presence at the last North Sea Jazz Festival. ‘A breathtaking performance’,  wrote de Volkskrant newspaper. ‘Not only her voice is a revelation, but also the compositions which sound solemn at times, after which the nonet can move into almost whimsical directions.’ Her nine-piece band has a typical jazz line-up with four horn players. Her compositions reveal classical influences as well as traditional Korean rhythms, and even Brazilian styles.

‘I consider my instrument to be my voice’, says Song Yi Jeon, who often uses wordless melodic lines and improvisations in her music, alongside electronic effects. She studied classical composition in Graz, jazz singing in Basel, and went on to hone her unique sound further at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Her debut albumMovement of Liveswas released in 2018, and four years after that she recorded the duo albumHomewith…