Home » Jazz Articles » Eugenia Choe
Jazz Articles about Eugenia Choe
Eugenia Choe: So We Speak

by Dan McClenaghan
New York-based pianist Eugenia Choe's first two trio albums on SteepleChase Records, 2016's Magic Light (review here) and 2018's Verdfant Green (review here), featured her trio with bassist Danny Weller and drummer Alex Wyatt. For her third album release, So We Speak, Choe goes with a trio once again, this time teaming with vibraphonist Yuhan Su and vocalist Song Yi Jeon. The result is less the traditional jazz trio mood of her debut and its follow up, and more of ...
Continue ReadingEugenia Choe: Verdant Dream

by Mark Sullivan
Pianist/composer Eugenia Choe is based in New York, but took a circuitous route to get there. Born in South Korea, she spent years in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago (where she majored in mathematics and classical piano performance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). In New York, Eugenia graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the renowned New School for Jazz and earned a master's degree in jazz piano at SUNY Purchase. Her recorded debut Magic Light ...
Continue ReadingEugenia Choe: Verdant Dream

by Dan McClenaghan
New York-based pianist Eugenia Choe released one of the finest debuts of 2017 with Magic Light (SteepleChase Records). It was a trio outing of the highest order, featuring a distinctive and interactive trio interplay with bandmates Danny Weller (bass) and Alex Wyatt (drums). Choe proved herself a fine interpreter of tunes from Billy Strayhorn and alto saxophonist, Benny Carter, but it was her eight originals that--exploring, in part, the aspect of light--that stole the show. Now, as 2018 ...
Continue ReadingEugenia Choe: Magic Light

by James Nadal
One of the most interesting aspects of jazz immersion studies is how it influences and affects players from diverse backgrounds. Korean born and classically trained pianist Eugenia Choe was drawn to jazz by its opportunities for compositional development and improvisational challenges, bringing to Magic Light a lyrical understanding of technical structure, and an intellectual ability to swing. This being her recording debut, Choe came to the sessions with an abundance of original material, revealing her pianistic virtuosity and ...
Continue ReadingEugenia Choe: Magic Light

by Dan McClenaghan
It takes nerve to come from (seemingly) out of nowhere to present a piano trio disc. The history runs deep there: Bud Powell, Tommy Flanagan, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Brad Mehldau, Keith Jarrett--just a scratching of the surface of the bop and post bebop players in the game. Eugenia Choe, a new-to-the-scene New York-based pianist, enters the arena in a big way with her debut, Magic Light, and not--as might be expected--on a set heavy on the Standards. ...
Continue Reading