Mina Choi: Stories

Who could have guessed that the next wave of world-class big-band composers and arrangers would wash ashore in the U.S. after starting its journey in faraway Asia? In 2024 alone, many composers with roots in the Far East have nourished their credentials with impressive and well- received big-band recordings. Those whose names spring to mind include Jihye Lee, Hyeseon Hong, Noel Okimoto and Zhengtao Pan, a list that has now grown by one with the addition of pianist and composer Mina Choi, whose intriguing Stories, enlivening the debut album as leader of her southern California-based jazz orchestra, are in the same upper class as those already named.

Four of the album's seven Stories were crafted by Choi, who also arranged every number save George Cables' upbeat opener, "Dark Side Light Side." That was arranged by guest pianist Bill Cunliffe who hangs long enough to enrich Choi's colorful "Secret Garden" and Cedar Walton's scampering "Bolivia." Cables is the spellbinding pianist on "Dark Side Light Side" and the second of his charming compositions, "Helen's Song," which closes the album. Choi mans the keyboard on a trio of her provocative originals: "Paddle Through the Lake," "You're Still Here" (dedicated to the more than three hundred souls who lost their lives onboard the Sewol ferry, which sank in South Korea in April 2014) and "All About Your Cries and Kisses."

Choi reserves blowing space for a number of the orchestra's sharp and able-bodied soloists including trumpeter Joe Terry, alto saxophonist Steven Ragsdale, tenors Nick Gomez and Nathan King, trombonists Francisco Torres and Ryan Dragon, vibraphonist Brian Cannady, guitarist Zack Caplinger, bassist Cole Sainburg, percussionist Alex Acuña and drummer Rodolfo Zuniga who anchors the ensemble's steady rhythm section. While their support is indispensable, it is Choi's seductive compositions and arrangements—her Stories—that brighten the landscape and lend the narrative its essence. A handsome and pleasing coming-out party.