Sukyung Kim: Lilac Hill

Lilac Hill, Korean-born, Brooklyn based pianist/composer Sukyung Kim's five song, self-produced, engaging debut EP fervently introduces a musical sensibility that is an airy, traditional blend of youthful wit and studied style with a lean, casual sense of swing at its heart.

The title track starts the proceedings confidently enough with tight and dynamic group interplay, proving an early and undeniable testament to Kim's solid understanding that as one player shines so too shines the whole ensemble. "Stargazer" opens with drummer Jongkuk Kim's emphatic, breathy, stuttering rhythmics, and features Kim's misty and determined improvised solo and some keenly smooth cocktail interplay from bassist Luca Alemanno, alto saxophonist Ethan Helm and guitarist Paul Jubong Lee (all of whom prove themselves to be equally adroit players throughout) before briefly falling into a Grateful Dead styled floating breakdown back to a cool, neo-bop lounge sound. as with Kim's Rhodes-led, and drummer-Kim driven "Summer Days," it's an enjoyably neat treat of twists and turns—some expected, some not—and wholly characteristic of a young artist still finding her voice, unafraid and ready to kick up some dust in the years and challenges ahead.