HYESEON HONG JAZZ ORCHESTRA / EE-YA-GI
REVIEWS
May 19, 2017
All About Jazz by Jack Bowers
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ee-ya-gi-stories-hyeseon-hong-mama-records-review-by-jackbowers.
php
June 12, 2017
Midwest Record by Chris Spector
“Mixing a lot of things deftly without feeling like anything is borrowed, this is someone who can
say she leads a jazz orchestra proudly. Solid stuff throughout.”
http://www.midwestrecord.com/MWR1238.html
HYESEON HONG/Ee-ya-gi: A Korean composer/arranger that learned her Carla Bley lessons
well adds her New York stay to her style and comes in with a solid, left leaning jazz date that’s
quite encompassing in scope and has some stellar guests along for the ride rounding out the
sound. Mixing a lot of things deftly without feeling like anything is borrowed, this is someone
who can say she leads a jazz orchestra proudly. Solid stuff throughout.
June 14, 2017
Improvijazzation Nation by Dick Metcalf
“From the standpoint of Korean music integrated seamlessly with great jazz, my personal
favorite of the seven tunes offered up is the light and airy opener, “Harvest Dance“… one of the
strongest full-blown orchestral jazz pieces I’ve heard (yet) in 2017. I give HyeSeon and her
playmates a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for this superb album…”
http://rotcodzzaj.com/improvijazzation-nation-166/issue-166-reviews/
June 22, 2017
Amazon by Grady Harp
“The best from East and West in a combination wholly unique – beautiful, musical, superb
ensemble work”
https://www.amazon.com/review/R3K4XKWTTEMRMZ/
ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
June 24, 2017
The Art Music Lounge by Lynn Rene Bayley
“…a fine album… Recommended for Hong’s nice tune construction, the ensemble playing and
the outstanding solos!”
https://artmusiclounge.wordpress.com/2017/06/24/hyeseon-hongs-ee-ya-gi-a-strange-butfascinating-
cd/
June 27, 2017
Jazz Trail by Felipe Freitas
“Exhibiting an insatiable appetite for jazz-fusion, Ms. Hong proves to be a talented orchestrator and
musical thinker who is not afraid to risk while crossing genre boundaries.”
http://jazztrail.net/blog/2017/6/26/hyeseon-hong-jazz-orchestra-ee-ya-gi-album-review
June 27, 2017
The Aquarian Weekly / Rant ‘N’ Roll by Mike Greenblatt
“It’s a delightful debut, filled with swing, classical flourishes, post-bop and, most enticingly of
all, traditional Korean folk melodies.”
“Ee-Ya-Gi (Mama Records) by the Hyeseon Hong Jazz Orchestra is a flower in early spring
yearning to bloom. Hong is from Seoul, South Korea, but has been living and working in New
York City for the last 15 years, gathering up the musicians who inhabit her 18-piece orchestra.
It’s a delightful debut, filled with swing, classical flourishes, postbop and, most enticingly of all,
traditional Korean folk melodies, especially the instantly-likeable 7:14 opener “Harvest Dance.”
Outstanding solos from two guests— saxophonist Rich Perry and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen—add
drama, as does a native Korean “Chang” vocal by Subin Park on “Boat Song,” which
approximates the rolling waves of the ocean. Hong even uses a Hans Christian Anderson fairy
tale as the basis of “Disappearing Into Foam” about a weeping mermaid wherein a gorgeous
piano cadenza by Broc Hempel is helped by a sweeping orchestral arrangement by Hong who
wrote all seven elongated compositions.” (PDF available)
June 27, 2017
Jazz Music Archives by John Sanders
“…an infinitely interesting orchestral extravaganza.”
“Modern big band enthusiasts take note, “EE-YA-GI” is complex and challenging, but also fun
and buoyant too… Let’s hope there will be many more albums from Hyeseon Hong in the near
future.”
http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/review/ee-ya-gi/264939
June 30, 2017
UK Vibe by Mike Gates
“She successfully mixes elements of classical music, modern big band jazz and traditional
Korean music to create a compelling and rich tapestry of sound.”
“Engagingly expansive and original…”
“An enticingly colourful and energetic debut.”
http://ukvibe.org/album_reviews/hyeseon-hong-jazz-orchestra/
“Hyeseon Hong is a native of Seoul, South Korea. A Jazz arranger and composer, she has been living in
New York now for several years, and “EE-YA-GI” is her debut album. Blending Korean and Western
cultures, together with her Jazz orchestra she successfully mixes elements of classical music, modern big
band jazz and traditional Korean music to create a compelling and rich tapestry of sound.
This project grew from a jazz orchestra rehearsal that Hong leads. The orchestra meets regularly and has
grown steadily over the years. The album features an 18 piece orchestra comprising some of the finest
musicians in New York. As an admirer of Maria Schneider’s music, Hong was thrilled to have two of
Schneider’s leading performers join her for this recording. Acclaimed musicians, saxophonist Rich Perry
and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen are featured performers throughout the session.
“EE-YA-GI” means “stories” in Korean, and each of the seven compositions are self-contained stories.
Although many of the tunes are inspired by traditional Korean stories, the resulting music is perhaps
surprisingly American-sounding. There are natural elements of cross-cultural themes within the music
itself, but overall one might think Hung is more of a native New Yorker than a native Korean. That said,
one can’t fault the skill and depth of the whole project, with very strong compositions at times exuding
beauty, elegance and no shortage of excitement.
This engagingly expansive and original album begins with “Harvest Dance: Story of Thanksgiving”, a
piece inspired by a traditional Korean rhythm played by farmers who performed it to stimulate the flow of
heavenly and terrestrial energies in hopes of a good harvest. One of the strengths of the recording is the
quality of the soloing. Always in keeping with the melodic mood of the music, the performances are
extremely strong from all involved. “Friends or lovers: story of youth battling with love” is a swing tune
that captures well the energy and complexities of youthful love. There’s a distinctive Latin flavour to
“Para Mi Amigo Distante: Story of long lost friends”, whilst “Boat Song: Story of my heritage” is a richly
rewarding tune that plays on lovely melodic folk traditions. “Disappearing in Foam: Story of girlhood” is
based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, and “Trash Digging Queen: Story of Nica the dog”, is one
of my favourite tracks on the album, being enjoyably playful and very inventive. “Love Story: Story of
first love” is warm and graceful and makes for a soft, thoughtful end to the album.
Whilst Hong’s writing is solidly based on the big band swing tradition, she manages to create a modern
twist here, and this is an enticingly colourful and energetic debut.”
July 5, 2017
Musikansich by Wolfgang Giese
“Outstanding production… within the genre of big band music, yet the combination of Western
and Asian tradition is successful.”
https://www.musikansich.de/review.php?id=18277
“Hyeseon Hong is from Seoul, South Korea. The composer and bandleader has been working in
the United States as well as in Asia for the past fifteen years. With EE-YA-GI (Stories) she
presents us an eighteen-piece jazz orchestra, including two exclusive guests, Rich Perry on tenor
saxophone and Ingrid Jensen on trumpet. Jensen plays on the ## 1, 6, 7 and Perry on the ## 4,6.
South Korea and jazz and big band? Well, for the space of Asia, I would spontaneously call the
colleague Toshiko Akiyoshi from Japan, a great composer, bandleader and musician, who often
showed a successful combination of Asian and American jazz traditions on their numerous
records.
And now Korea and jazz are linked. This is not always the case, but with the "Harvest Dance" it
is presented convincingly. This is an inspiration from Korea, from the field of agriculture and
corresponding national music. "Friends or Lovers", however, aims in a different direction, here it
is rather in the seventies and the area of the fusion. Matt Vashlishan brings a solo with the EWI,
an electronic wind instrument, and the guitarist can wear some rock in the swing with a heavily
tied solo. "Para Mi Amigo Distante" is devoted to close friends in Latin America, hovering
lightly and airily, subtly supported by EJ Park's untrammeled vocals, which is woven into the
melody.
Very Korean, with a corresponding short vocal introduction, the "Boat Song" progresses
gracefully, slightly mysteriously and with a beautiful arrangement. Meditating, this song has a
beguiling character. This outstanding production is ended with the "Love Song", about the
memories that are associated with the first love, and this theme has also been implemented
emotionally. In short, music has emerged, which occupies a special position within the genre of
big band music, yet the combination of Western and Asian tradition has been successful.”
July 6, 2017
Musical Memoirs by Dee Dee McNeil
“The artist previews her composition skills, as well as her arrangements of self-expression and
beauty during this Hyeseon Hong production… It weaves various cultures and styles together
into a cohesive world musical exploration.”
https://musicalmemoirs.wordpress.com/
“Hyeseon Hong (pronounced hay-son-hong) migrated to New York City from Seoul, Korea pursuing an
extended education in music education. From the ages of twelve to eighteen, she studied art in Korea, but
that was her second passion. The first was music. As a child, her family realized she had perfect pitch and
she studied and played piano in church and gave piano lessons to others when she was only nine years
old. Her interest in music evolved to composition, arranging and a powerful urge to form and direct an
orchestra. She could hear all the arrangements in her head.
Coming to America to further her music education, at New York University, she honed her composition
skills and began arranging for her 10-piece band and gigging around the city. For a while, she returned to
her native Korea and taught college classes. But she was bitten by the East Coast music bug. The energy
and cultural diversity of NYC were infectious. Ms. Hong returned and over the past fifteen years, she has
been a band leader/composer and arranger. This year, 2017, she was awarded a grant for this recording
from the prestigious Aaron Copland Fund for Music. The results equal this work titled, “Ee-Ya-Gi.”
I was struck by cut #3 on this 18-piece, orchestrated CD titled, “Para Mi Amigo Distante.” It begins with
Ben Kono’s reed talents singing the melody sweetly on soprano saxophone. Then, the Bossa beat kicks in,
thanks to Matt Panayides’ rhythm guitar licks and the orchestra supports the haunting melody that Ms.
Hyeseon Hong wrote with ebullience. She says it is meant to celebrate Latin America and others who feel
misplaced in another country. This composition recalls traveling to foreign shores, making new friends,
then leaving and how those friendships come and go; how they inspire us and make memories that are
ever-lasting. I also enjoyed the jazzy “Friends or Lovers” arrangement, which leant itself to Swing and
Matt Panayides, once again, showed great competence on his guitar.
Cut #4 follows. It’s culturally rich with Subin Park as guest vocalist, opening the piece singing in Korean.
“Boat Song” also features the tenor saxophone of Rich Perry. He brings jazz to the forefront in a lovely,
unforgettable way with the orchestra oily-smooth in the background, laying down a royal foundation for
his exquisite horn solo. Then Park’s voice re-enters, like raindrops on the rooftop, tinkling a different
sound against the orchestration and sometimes singing in unison with the orchestrated melody.
I met Ingrid Jenson in Detroit, while reviewing her with her own ensemble. She was part of the Motor
City’s historic Free Annual Jazz Festival and boy, could she swing! I was absolutely blown away by this
lady’s tenacity on trumpet. She mesmerized the audience. So, of course I was eager to hear her with this
orchestra, in a totally different setting. On the last cut, “Love Song: Story of the First Love,” she plays a
pretty, legato solo, but I felt that the piece did not allow Jensen to stretch out into a place of freedom and
improvisation, the way I witnessed her with her own group. I found the orchestration somewhat confining
and very classical in format. Ingrid Jensen was also featured on “Trash Digging Queen: Story of Nica, the
Dog,” which I found to be a fascinating title. On this composition by Ms. Hong, Jensen was given a lot
more leeway to pursue self-expression on her instrument. I thought Andrew Hadro’s baritone saxophone
added great depth and interest to this piece, while Rich Perry’s tenor brought jazz riffs and spontaneity to
the tune. But the composition itself, is a strange combination of marching band influence mixed with
orchestral whole tones and repetitive harmonics that just don’t necessarily bring jazz to my
consciousness. On Cut #1, that opens this project, is titled “Harvest Dance,” and seems to signal a World
Music vernacular, with hints of Asian influence. It also features the trumpet improv of Ms. Jensen.
Perhaps this song demonstrates the point of this CD project. It weaves various cultures and styles together
into a cohesive world musical exploration. The artist previews her composition skills, as well as her
arrangements of self-expression and beauty during this Hyeseon Hong production.”
July 11, 2017
JazzMostly by Bruce Crowther
“The 17-piece ensemble directed by Hyeseon plays with bite and assurance, the melodic strains –
lyrical, plaintive, lively – are underpinned by rhythms from Asia and the Americas… This should
have wide appeal among fans of today’s jazz.”
http://jazzmostly.com/tag/jazz-singer
“For the past several years, Hyeseon Hong has led a rehearsal band in New York City, a group
that largely showcases her own compositions. These works draw upon the cultural heritage of
Hyeseon’s homeland, South Korea, but are presented in the musical form of her new world.
Titles for individual pieces include Harvest Dance: Story Of Thanksgiving, Para Mi Amigo
Distante: Story Of Long Lost Friends, Boat Song: Story Of My Heritage, and Trash Digging
Queen: Story Of Nica The Dog. The 17-piece ensemble directed by Hyeseon plays with bite and
assurance, the melodic strains – lyrical, plaintive, lively – are underpinned by rhythms from Asia
and the Americas. Among many solos (all of which are identified in the liner) are Ingrid Jensen’s
fluid, warm trumpet on Harvest Dance and Love Song: Story Of First Love, Rich Perry’s
compelling tenor saxophone on Boat Song, and Broc Hempel’s reflective piano on Disappearing
Into Foam: Story Of Girlhood. The occasional vocal contributions, by E.J. Park and Subin Park,
are mostly wordless and add to the album’s tonal palette. Musically, this a blend of contemporary
big band music and intriguingly unusual south-east Asian concepts. The full personnel of the
band heard here is: Augie Haas, Ingrid Jensen, Jason Wiseman, Colin Brigstocke (trumpets); Ron
Wilkens, Daniel Linden, Ric Becker, Becca Patterson (trombones); Ben Kono, Matt Vashlishan,
Rich Perry, Jeremy Powell, Andrew Hadro (reeds); Broc Hempel (piano); Matt Panayides
(guitar); John Lenis (bass); Mark Ferber (drums); E.J. Park, Subin Park (vocals). This should
have wide appeal among fans of today’s jazz.”
July 20, 2017
Veritas Vampirus by Mark S. Tucker
“Big band music and fresh as hell…Interlocking and ceaselessly shifting attentions to the levels
of her work provide non-stop listener fascination, sometimes intriguing and challenging, other
times just pure blissful immersion in the concord of a 17-piece jazz orchestra doing what they do
best.”
“Hyeseon Hong (Hay-son Hong) was born for the aesthetic life. By the time she reached the age of 9, she
was acknowledged as possessing perfect pitch (which goes one hell of long way in accounting for how
untouchably clean her basic charts are…though I certainly wouldn’t leave out Aaron Nevezie’s flawless
engineering in that respect either, not by a country mile), played in her church’s music services, and was
giving piano lessons to others. At 12, she took a sharp left and studied art until age 18. Another left and
she returned to the love that has endured right up to this moment: music and composition.
I’m going to do something I don’t usually do, which is to announce right off the bat my favorite track:
“Harvest Dance”, the first cut of this big band smorgasbord. Basing in a trad Korean agrarian chant to
implore the heavens for a good harvest for both the farmer’s and the village’s prosperity and health, the
tempo slowly increases, as participating instruments chime in until Ron Wilkens breaks into a truly mindblowing
trombone solo sending chills up the spine. I haven’t heard that free and quirky a manner of
thinking and exposition since the great old 70s progfusion era. Then Ingrid Jensen follows in a responsive
trumpet solo and…well, I confess I couldn’t continue to the second cut until I’d repeated “Harvest Moon”
three times. I ain’t jokin’ one little bit. Jensen is marvelous, but Wilkens is absolutely stunning.
Hong, however, is not devoting her attentions solely to her country of origin’s rich history of music but to
other cultures as well: Latin American, Danish, American, etc. One cut, “Trash Digging Queen”, in fact
concerns itself with the tale of Nica The Dog, a canine who behaves herself impeccably around her
master, but as soon as that authority figure departs for a while, she flies straight at the trash and spreads it
all over the house because “every facet of a creature’s nature must find an outlet”. The song starts off in
martial cadence but slowly waxes more exuberant, especially when the soloists start having their way.
This really is big band music and fresh as hell, though I guess I should say it ranges the ages and
modalities freely, shackled only by the imageries of the storylines, which Hong shades in every possible
way and directs as intimately as a witty maestro should. Her band is well chosen, zoned in on the
composer’s aesthetics. Their interlocking and ceaselessly shifting attentions to the levels of her work
provide non-stop listener fascination, sometimes intriguing and challenging, other times just pure blissful
immersion in the concord of a 17-piece jazz orchestra doing what they do best.“
July 30, 2017
Bad Alchemy by Rigobert Dittmann
http://www.badalchemy.de/
HYESEON HONG JAZZ ORCHESTRA EE - YA - GI (Stories) (MAMA Records, MAA
1053):
Mit der kanadischen Trompeterin Ingrid Jensen als Go-Between streife ich hier ein
weites Feld, in dem Namen wie Maria Schneider, Beata Hlavenková, Terry Lyne
Carrington oder Marianne Trudel groß geschrieben werden. Beim CD-Debut der
Komponistin und Bandleaderin Hyeseon Hong spannt sich über dieses Feld ein Bogen
von Seoul, wo sie herstammt, nach New York, wo sie mit einem Aaron Copland Fund
diese 18-köpfige Bigband zum Klingen bringt. Mit Jensen-Solos bei 'Harvest Dance:
Story of Thanksgiving', das von der Rhythmik eines koreanischen Erntedankliedes
geprägt wird, bei 'Trash Digging Queen: Story of Nica, the dog', das einesteils bei Fuß
marschiert, lieber aber rumtollt. Und bei 'Love Song: Story of the first love', das
versucht, alte Erinnerungen hinter sich zu lassen. Virulenter sind die Liebesdinge noch
bei 'Friends or Lovers'. Um das Unglück von H. C. Andersens kleiner Meerjungfrau
kreist 'Disapperaring into Foam: Story of girlhood' im Walzertakt, 'Para Mi Amigo
Distantes' erzählt von Fremdsein, Freundschaft und Trennung. 'Boat Song: Story of my
heritage' greift, angestimmt von Subin Park, die Melodie eines koreanischen
Fischerliedes auf. Es sind diese heimatlichen Akzente, die Hongs Stories und den
sämigen, geschmeidig routinierten Bigbandsound mit femininer Vokalisation und
tadellosen Solos ein wenig aufpolieren. So wenig aber die Dame mit Hündchen je
einem Acker nahe gekommen ist, so wenig bricht sich ihre feine Blasmusik einen der
mal Latin angehauchten, mal in Schaum getauchten oder im Poesiealbum malenden
Fingernägel. Ja, die Leichtigkeit des Seins, so golden vor mir ausgebreitet... [BA 95 rbd]
“Hyeseon Hong hails from Seoul South Korea. The composer and band leader has
been working equally for the past 15 years in both the United States and Asia. With EE
YA GI she is presenting us with an 18 piece jazz orchestra with two exclusive members
Rich Perry on tenor sax and Ingrid Jensen on the trumpet. Jensen has a solo on tracks
1 6 and 7. Perry solos on 4 and 6.
South Korea, jazz and big band? When it comes to the area of Asia, the only other
example that spontaneously comes to mind is her colleague from Japan Toshiko Akioshi
who is a fabulous composer, band leader and musician that on her many albums has
managed to blend Asian and US American jazz traditions together.
And now Korea and jazz are entwined. But that's not always the case. But with Harvest
Dance, it is convincingly realized. In this case the inspiration is the Korean folk music
that comes from the traditions of farming. Friends or Lovers aims in a different direction.
Here it is going for more of a 70s realm of fusion. Matt Vashlishan brings a solo with the
EWI. And the guitarist with his strong solo brings a little rock into the swing. Para mi
amigo distance is dedicated to good friends in Latin America and floats along fluidly,
light like the wind. Decently supported from a wordless vocal line that's blended in from
EJ Park, it goes slightly in the direction of a few songs from Flora Purim.
With a traditional Korean short vocal introduction "Boat Song" marches with grace and
pride; slightly secretive and with a beautiful arrangement. Meditatively it flows along with
a very strong character. The whole album ends with a wonderful production of the love
song about the memories of a first love, and this theme is translated well with great
feeling. Bottom line, the resulting music, that is within the unique genre of big band
music, successfully manages to knit western and Asian traditions together. 18 out of 20”
Jersey Jazz by Joe Lang
“A program of pieces that are riveting and executed to perfection by her talented roster of New
York City players. Hong is a welcome new voice in the world of contemporary big bands, one
with freshness and originality who honors the foundations of Big Band jazz.”
FULL REVIEW:
“Jazz musicians come from many backgrounds and cultures. EE-YA-GI (MAMA Records –
1053) by the HYESEON HONG JAZZ ORCHESTRA reflects the influence of Hong’s Korean
heritage in two of its seven selections, five originals by Hong and two pieces in which she
incorporates Korean folk melodies into her compositions. Her inspirations are not limited to her
Korean origins. She explores many different themes, the emotions of love during one’s youth,
“Friends or Lovers,” the difficulties of adapting to a new culture, “Para Mi Amigo Distante,”
“Disappearing into Foam” examines young girlhood as depicted in a Hans Christian Andersen
fairy tale, the divergent aspects of her dog’s behavior, “Trash Digging Queen,” and one’s first
love, “Love Song.” The result is a program of pieces that are riveting, and executed to perfection
by her talented roster of New York City players. Hong is a welcome new voice in the world of
contemporary big bands, one with freshness and originality who honors the foundations of Big
Band jazz.” (www.mamajazz.com)