Bird, Bird, Bluebird by Jordan VanHemert

From the album

Album Title: Nomad
Label: Origin Records
Released: 2022

Listen

About the Album

With ‘Nomad,’ tenor saxophonist Jordan VanHemert celebrates Korean culture through the melodies of both ancient and contemporary folk and children’s songs, distilled through a modern jazz aesthetic and the open sonic canvas of the saxophone trio. His warm sound, unhurried phrasing and swinging melodicism are perfectly suited for high-level exploration of the jazz canon, but here, mainly with the eminent bassist Rodney Whitaker and David Alvarez III on drums, VanHemert offers a new repertoire, reminiscent of the creative choices rolled out by Sonny Rollins's trios over the decades. Following his 2021 release, ‘I Am Not A Virus,’ which dealt head-on with the reality of anti-Asian hate crimes and prejudice, ‘Nomad’ "...wanders and weaves through the story of our complex relationships with being Korean American. There is joy, there is sorrow (han), and through it all, there is the authenticity of the Asian American experience."

Song Listing

Bird, Bird, Bluebird; Imjin River Song; Half Moon (Vocal); Doraji Taryeong (White Mountain Flower); Arirang Alone (Instrumental); Spring in My Hometown; Arirang Alone (Vocal); Half Moon (Instrumental).

Personnel

Jordan VanHemert

saxophone

Rodney Whitaker

bass

David Alvarez III

drums

Additional Personnel

Sharon Cho: vocals; Lisa Sung: piano; Nathan Borton: guitar; John Webber: bass; Max Colley III: drums; Jeff Shoup: drums.

Reviews

Nomad by Jane Kozhevnikova
Nomad by Jack Bowers

Date featured

April 17, 2022

This song appears by permission of the contributing artist and/or record company.
It is for personal use only; no other rights are granted or implied.