In 'Things Will Pass,' Hyeseon Hong leads her 19-piece Jazz Orchestra, merging American jazz with Korean influences, bridging East and West.

Things Will Passis the long-awaited follow-up to her 2017 debut recording, Ee-Ya-Gi, which featured veteran tenor saxophonist Rich Perry, who played with the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. Personal reflection and resilience after a major loss, are the main themes of Things Will Pass. Helping Hong craft those evocative sound pictures are some of New York City's finest musicians who comprise the Jazz Orchestra.

Hong is a master at evoking a number of jazz moods and grooves, from the bouncy, backbeat of 'Road to Hana' and 'We Will Meet Again,' the reminiscence of 'Waltzing with Dad,' and the mid tempo cadence of 'Treasure Hunt,' to the tenor saxophone feature on 'Night Climbing,' mysterious and slightly frightening 'Dance with Dracula,' and the wistful, Asian atmosphere on 'Memories of Ladies' and 'Raindrop's Journey.' A native of Seoul, South Korea, Hong received a Bachelor of Music from Yonsei University, earned Masters of Arts in Jazz Performance from NYU, and studied improvisation and composition at City College. She served as assistant professor at Dae Gu Art Music College in South Korea, and taught classes in jazz arranging, composition, theory and piano. Hong alternately worked in New York City and Korea, and eventually settled in the New York City area, and was the recipient of the prestigious Copland Fund for Music composers grant in 2017, the same year she released Ee-Ya-Gi, which means 'Stories' in Korean.

Never taking a moment to pause, she is also a member of the prestigious BMI Jazz workshop as well as an advanced member of the Lehman Engel musical theater workshop. She has been studying the work of Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams amongst other theatrical works. These recent deep dives into American musical styles have had an important impact on her more recent big band compositional approach. She is already working on new music for the next recording.

Media

Additional Details

Label: Pacific Coast Jazz

Genre: Jazz

Run Time: 58:33 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 08/23/24

UPC: 829166946218