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| Going Express |
| Helen Sung |
| első megjelenés éve: 2010 |
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| (2010)
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CD |
| 5.180 Ft
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| 1. | Going Express
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| 2. | Bitter
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| 3. | Love For Sale
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| 4. | Eronel
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| 5. | Bittersweet
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| 6. | Lotus Blossum
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| 7. | Hope Springs Eternally
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| 8. | In Walked Bud
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Jazz
Helen Sung - piano
Seamus Blake - tenor saxophone
Lonnie Plaxico - acoustic bass
Eric Harland - drums
Live recordings provide the listener a glimpse of what a musician can truly deliver. Pianist Helen Sung brings it on her new live recording Going Express on Sunnyside Records. Presented live at the highly regarded Jazz Standard club in New York City, Sung plunges into a challenging set of original tunes and standards assisted by a sterling cast of musicians, including saxophonist Seamus Blake, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, and drummer Eric Harland.
Helen Sung has shown much growth as a leader, though this is only her fourth CD as a leader. Winner of the Mary Lou Williams Piano Competition and a graduate of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, Sung is on fire throughout this live set at the Jazz Standard, where she's joined by saxophonist Seamus Blake, bassist Lonnie Plaxico and drummer Eric Harland. Her dazzling approach to Cole Porter's "Love For Sale" blends post-bop with Latin jazz and a bit of Afro-Cuban jazz, with Seamus Blake's potent tenor providing the perfect foil for her. Her renditions of two Thelonious Monk compositions show plenty of imagination. Disguising the introduction to "In Walked Bud," she romps through it with the rhythm section. A surprising choice is "Eronel," a song infrequently recorded, but Sung has done her homework, keeping its whimsical essence while also showcasing Plaxico at length in their duo performance. Her lyrical setting of Billy Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom" has a surprising twist, as it is a duet with Harland. The pianist's originals are also impressive. The fierce post-bop vehicle "Going Express" is a solid opener, with Blake's adventurous soprano sax and furious piano leading the way. Two bonus tracks (Sung's infectious "Duplicity" and an expressive version of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" that takes it well away from its subtle theme) and Billy Childs' aural liner notes are only accessible for playback via computer. ~ Ken Dryden, Rovi
Helen Sung
Active Decade: '00s
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Classical Crossover, Jazz Instrument, Piano Jazz
The winner of the 2007 Mary Lou Williams Piano Competition, pianist Helen Sung is an adroit improviser with a bent toward straight-ahead jazz and post-bop. A native of Houston, TX, Sung studied classical piano growing up and attended Houston's High School for the Performing Arts before earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees in classical piano from the University of Texas at Austin. It was during her time in college that Sung became interested in jazz, and after graduating in 1995 she enrolled in the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, which was then at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music. Eventually, Sung relocated to New York City, where she currently resides. She has performed with a bevy of name artists including trumpeter Clark Terry, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, trumpeter Jon Faddis, and many others, and performs regularly with the Mingus Big Band. On her own, she has released several albums including 2004's Push, 2006's Helenistique, 2007's Sungbird (After Albeniz), and 2010's Going Express.
--- Matt Collar, Rovi
Of Chinese heritage and a native of Houston, Texas, Helen attended Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA). She initially aspired to be a classical pianist but was bitten by the jazz bug while pursuing undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin!
Her choice to switch to jazz piano was decided in 1995 when Helen was accepted into the inaugural class of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory of Music. An intensive program accepting only seven students (forming a jazz septet), the Institute proved to be an unprecedented opportunity to study and perform with some of the greatest masters of jazz music.
The septet performed with Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Jackie McLean, Harry "Sweets" Edison, and James Moody; and studied with such artists as Ron Carter (artistic director of the program), Barry Harris, David Baker, Slide Hampton, Lewis Nash, Jon Faddis, Curtis Fuller, Albert "Tootie" Heath, Bennie Maupin, and Sir Roland Hanna. The class toured India and Thailand with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, performed at the Kennedy Center, and presented workshops for students.
After graduating from the Institute in 1997, Helen dove into the Boston area jazz scene – some highlights include presenting a jazz music workshop with the late, acclaimed bassist Ray Brown, performing with fellow artists at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and being featured on local television shows. She also taught a group piano class for low-income elderly adults sponsored by New England Conservatory's Continuing Education Program & the YMCA.
Helen presently lives in New York City. She has worked and/or recorded with such jazz masters as Slide Hampton, Benny Golson, Buster Williams, and legendary composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter; and with such jazz luminaries as Regina Carter, Steve Wilson, and Lonnie Plaxico. She has also played with the Mingus Big Band, Clark Terry's "Young Titans of Jazz" Big Band, and Diva. Most recently, she can be seen performing with drummer T.S.Monk, trombonist Steve Turre, and trumpet giant Clark Terry.
In addition to her work as a sideman, Helen is steadily gaining prominence as a bandleader. She was a featured guest on Marian McPartland's acclaimed NPR Piano Jazz show and XM Satellite's In the Swing Seat w/Wynton Marsalis. In print, Helen has feature pieces in such publications as Downbeat, JazzTimes, JazzIz, and AllAboutJazz-New York. Her band works both nationally & internationally, headlining at venues & festivals including Bern's celebrated Marian's Jazzroom, Andorra's 2006 Temporada di musica i dansa, the American Jazz Museum's ‘Blue Room,' Cleveland's Tri-C Jazz Festival, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and some of New York City's finest jazz clubs.
Helen's experience at the Monk Institute inspires her to remain committed to educational endeavors, such as working with JazzReach, the Newark Boys Chorus, and conducting masterclasses/clinics at various colleges and universities. She is also a recipient of a 2006 Chamber Music America grant, enabling her band to conduct a jazz residency program benefiting Camden's (of New Jersey) Urban Promise Academy and Camden Forward Schools
-Sunnyside Records |
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