With her flexible voice and lavish compositions, Song Yi Jeon was a surprising presence at the last North Sea Jazz Festival. ‘A breathtaking performance’,  wrote de Volkskrant newspaper. ‘Not only her voice is a revelation, but also the compositions which sound solemn at times, after which the nonet can move into almost whimsical directions.’ Her nine-piece band has a typical jazz line-up with four horn players. Her compositions reveal classical influences as well as traditional Korean rhythms, and even Brazilian styles.

‘I consider my instrument to be my voice’, says Song Yi Jeon, who often uses wordless melodic lines and improvisations in her music, alongside electronic effects. She studied classical composition in Graz, jazz singing in Basel, and went on to hone her unique sound further at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Her debut album Movement of Lives was released in 2018, and four years after that she recorded the duo album Home with guitarist Vinícius Gomes. Leading magazine DownBeat was full of praise and awarded the album 4.5 stars. On her most recent album she samples traditional Samulnori-percussion from Korea.

‘A master of modern jazz’ (Benjamin Herman).

Song Yi Jeon vocals/effects, Charley Rose soprano sax, Jeremy Viner tenor sax, Raphael Rosse trombone, Joseph Itskovich bass trombone, Fabio Gouvea guitar, Lorenzo Vitolo piano, Roberto Koch bass, Marton Juhasz drums