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Jazz Articles about Helen Sung
Jordan VanHemert: Survival of the Fittest
by Gary Fukushima
For most of his life, Jordan VanHemert has been on a quest of growth and mastery as a saxophonist, composer and musician. But equally important have been his efforts to contextualize some of the difficulties of his life experiences within the deeper themes of his DNA, discovering in the process resilience, optimism and joy. Jordan's music is meant to convey empathy and solidarity to others who have also faced challenges in their lives. This album, Jordan's fifth as a leader, ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: Survival of the Fittest
by Jack Bowers
Although the title of saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's fifth album, Survival of the Fittest, may elicit images of a crash course in self-defense, that is not at all what he had in mind. The music is thematic, he says, and represents the twin lodestars of adversity and resilience. Even that, however, becomes largely irrelevant once VanHemert and his supporting cast launch what is at its heart a narrative of contemporary post-bop jazz. It is a cast that varies in ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: Deep in the Soil
by Jack Bowers
Energy and enthusiasm fairly leap from the speakers--or headphones--on Sharel Cassity's daring “Call to Order," the opening number on Korean-born saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's fifth album as leader, Deep in the Soil. Alas, that same ardor doesn't reappear until track seven (of eight), trombonist Michael Dease's boppish “ST in the House." In between, VanHemert and his companions (group sizes vary from sextet to duo) offer some agreeable music but nothing that approaches the ebullience or cogency of the themes already named. ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: Deep in the Soil
by C. Andrew Hovan
Born in Korea and raised in Michigan, Jordan VanHemert counts himself among those youngsters that got involved in his school music program by starting out on the alto saxophone. Also like many of his fellow saxophonists, VanHemert eventually moved away from the smaller horn to devote his full energies to the tenor sax, an instrument emblematic of the jazz heritage. “In my formative years, I was almost exclusively an alto saxophonist," VanHemert explained from his current home base in Oklahoma. ...
Continue ReadingHelen Sung Quartet + 1 at SFJAZZ Center
by Harry S. Pariser
Helen Sung Quartet+1 Joe Henderson lab at SFJAZZ Center San Francisco, CA March 18, 2022 Raised by immigrants from Taiwan in Houston, Texas, Helen Sung does not fit the traditional stereotype of a jazz musician. Sung was set to be a classical pianist, earning her bachelor's and master's degrees in classical piano at the University of Texas at Austin in 1993 and 1995, respectively. But she was lured to the community of jazz musicians, leaving ...
Continue ReadingHelen Sung Quartet with guest Jenny Scheinman at SFJAZZ
by Roy Strassman
Helen Sung Quartet with guest artist Jenny Scheinman Joe Henderson Lab at SFJazz San Francisco, CA March 18, 2022 Last night the Helen Sung Quartet plus violinist Jenny Scheinman graced the stage of the Joe Henderson Lab at San Francisco's premier jazz venue, SFJazz. Ms. Sung, a Guggenheim fellow, has a winsome, energetic, stylish, and captivating presence and is a strong advocate for women jazz composers and performers. She kicked ...
Continue ReadingNew Releases and Music For The New Year
by Mary Foster Conklin
This broadcast presents new releases from pianists Champian Fulton, Helen Sung, Antonio Adolfo, vocalists Roseanna Vitro, Sheila Jordan, Sasha Dobson and the Kate McGarry & Keith Ganz Ensemble plus a new collaboration from John Finbury with Camille Bertault, with birthday shoutouts to Maria Muldaur, Lorraine Feather, Mel Torme, Ariel Pocock, Tom Wopat and more. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by purchasing their music during this time of pandemic so they can continue to distract, comfort ...
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