* Please note the original article is in Korean - the post has been translated partially for international audience with consent from the writer

Spotlight interview | MM jazz

Source: MM Jazz Magazine (http://www.mmjazz.net/)

Release date: October, 2019

by Hee-joon Kim

Spotlight Interview (Part 2) – Putting together experiences and changes in life in a masterpiece as a whole

Based on your playing style and musical direction, I feel that you focus heavily on traditional jazz. How do you define yourself as a jazz musician?

I had been called a straight-ahead jazz player ever since I’ve been in Korea but started to think that it doesn’t place much meaning in categorizing the areas of jazz and dividing it by traditional vs. modern, after coming to the United States and meeting various types of musicians. When you hear carefully and dig into the albums of musicians who are categorized as modern jazz, I find their fundamentals are based on traditional jazz. However, I think the major difference comes from either creating my own sound deciding on how much I want to maintain the traditional sound or creating a modern and something of my own based on strong fundamentals of traditional sound. I was not naturally exposed to gospels or blues music growing up but was most touched by these African American rooted sounds. The groovy and soulful yet happy and hip vibe. So, there is a lot of those in my sound. Especially the musical sources from hardbop era. But, at the same time, I really enjoy listening to music with more modern sources, and while writing music, all of these were coming out together, and at some point I just stopped thinking about whether I want to write a tune with mainstream sound or a modern sound, but what I want to play and the sound I wanted to make. As a result, some tunes really sound straight-ahead and others are too modern. It is same when it comes to improvising as I react solely to the moment and reading the sheet at times or just searching on the colors of the musicians I am playing with, to really be in the moment. Back when I was in Korea, I was self-pressured to play the sound that suits the image I created, and because of that, I would be playing so great if that worked and would sound really bad when not – and was everywhere, and here I don’t think too much but focus on the moment and play really close to my instinct. To summarize, I’ll say I am a musician who is searching for my own sound based on traditions, if I have to categorize myself between tradition and modern.

(Full article not available on web - magazine scrap)

* Please note the original article is in Korean - the post has been translated partially for international audience with consent from the writer

Spotlight interview | MM jazz

Source: MM Jazz Magazine (http://www.mmjazz.net/)

Release date: September, 2019

by Hee-joon Kim

Spotlight Interview (Part 1) – Putting together experiences and changes in life in a masterpiece as a whole

As a writer and an observer who is trying to introduce an artist, it becomes extremely cautious to talk about young rising stars as they still have ways to go with competition and uncertainties in their career compared with seasoned musicians who are already a superstar. However, for musicians who are bold in advocating and appealing their own music and is solid on where they stand, it becomes an exception and I find no reason to be cautious about. As a jazz fan, it is a joy and privilege I get as a writer, closely witnessing and being satisfied with the performance and music by rising stars such as Pureum Jin. She is also a Korean. These are more than enough to satisfy the reason why we should highlight the steps she is taking, when she has successfully taking steps into the US jazz scene.

When is it that you moved over to the US? Could you share with us in general the reasons behind the move?

It has been 4 years since I moved to the US as it was the summer of 2015 when I came here. I always vaguely wanted to come to the US ever since I started to play jazz. I was curious about jazz scene in the US as it is the origin of jazz, and also was curious about capacity of my ability and how far I could reach in where jazz started. Most of all, I wasn’t sure about my sound, if it is really something I want to aspire to play and was struggling to find ways to improve even when I wanted to. I began to be aware that I was slowly falling into slippery slope, but it wasn’t easy to look elsewhere to find a solution. I started to find reality in life a much bigger problem compared to my aspirations to become a better musician, but I was struggling to find a courage to overcome those realities by myself. However, that is when I met my husband and with his encouragement and support and help preparing come to the US together. That is how I came to the US.

(Full article not available on web - magazine scrap)

Album Review | Jazz weekly

Pureum Jin: The Real Blue

Source: Jazz Weekly (www.jazzweekly.com)

Release date: September 5, 2019

by GEORGE W. HARRIS

Vintage hard and post bop is covered here by alto saxist Pureum Jin, leading a muscular ensemble of Jeremy Manisa/p, Luke Sellick/b and  Willie Jones III/dr through a set of mostly originals and a handful of covers.

Her tone is warm and bright, just this side of Jackie McLean, bopping hard with Manasia on the swinging“Trembling Forward” and lovely on the thoughtful “Fireflies.” She gives a tribute to maestro alto saxist Phil Woods on a bluesy “Remembering Mr. Woods” and bounces over Jones’ ricocheting sticks on the dramatic “Seminole Trail,” giving a Coltranesque feel alongside Sellick’s bass on the simmering take of “Speak Low.” Vocalist Sabeth Perez brings an artsy feel to the dreamy rubato of “The Song Of Silence” and Jin’s delicate side is well presented on a closing duet with Manasia on the graceful “When Blue Gets Blue.” A must for fans of vintage Blue Note sounds, and who isn’t?

Album Review |
The New York City Jazz Record

The Real Blue - Pureum Jin (CELLAR 020219)

Source: The New York City Jazz Record (www.nycjazzrecord.com)

Release date: September 2019 issue

by KEN DRYDEN

Young musicians often have a tough time winning over critics, who seem to expect them to be both fully formed and totally original from the start. But almost any veteran jazz musician will say that one learns by copying the greats, then developing one’s own sound and approach to playing, composing and arranging.  Alto saxophonist Pureum Jin, a native of South Korea and 2017 alum of the Manhattan School of Music’s graduate jazz program, is brimming with confidence on her debut as a leader, accompanied by pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist Luke Sellick and veteran drummer Willie Jones III. Her songs have striking themes and her improvising shows a wealth of creativity with flawless execution.

It can be a risky gambit for young musicians to focus heavily on their own compositions on a debut, but Jin’s compositional skill and ability to pace her set by varying tempo and mood help keep the music fresh. Explosive opener “Trembling Forward” is brash and harmonically rich, with plenty of twists in its improvised lines. “The Song Of Silence” features a strong performance by vocalist Sabeth Pérez, in addition to fiery alto and intricate piano. The brisk setting of Cole Porter’s “Night And Day” is generously seasoned with playful detours while Jin’s “Remembering Phil Woods” is a solid tribute, capturing the essence of the late jazz master but in no way trying to mimic his tone. Her ballad mastery is on display in her heartfelt and expressive “Fireflies”, an emotional work worthy of a lyric. The other standard of the session is a breezy setting of Kurt Weill-Ogden Nash’s “Speak Low”, fueled by an engaging AfroCuban rhythmic undercurrent.

Rarely does a debut album by a young artist make such a striking impression, With her skills as a player, composer and arranger, Pureum Jin should earn many votes in critics’ polls.

Album Review | Downbeat Magazine

Pureum Jin - The Real Blue (CELLAR 020219)

Source: Downbeat Magazine (downbeat.com)

Release date: September 2019 issue

by BRIAN MORTON

Rating 4/5

A few years back, a lot of young European players seemed to be channeling Phil Woods. You don’t often hear that tight, controlled wail any more. Pureum Jin, though, pops up with her first album and the impression is strong. Like Woods in his early years, she’s one of those players who sounds like she was never a beginner, already having found her tone, speed of execution and a generously filled ideas bag. Not many young players can put out an hour of top-tier material without filler. The originals predominate, and an opening pair, “Trembling Forward” and “Ah-Oh-Owa,” introduce an instrumentalist who’s not just a natural melodist, but also intensely rhythmic in the Woods manner. She seems to play off the drums, rather than the harmony instrument, making Willie Jones III her Elvin.

Jin clearly thinks in terms of song, and the third track (with Sabeth Pérez guesting on vocals) is cleverly paired with a neat, but by no means routine, shakedown of “Night And Day,” just to confirm that she’s well-studied in the Broadway tradition as well as bop. Luke Sellick consistently impresses on these early tracks as well. He’s one of those bassists whose musicality and metrical efficiency seem in perfect balance. He comes to the fore more than once with sweetly telling fills. But it’s Jones who really gets the leader moving on a Woods tribute and on “Seminole Trail,” a tune that’s going to be called for many times over the years.

This isn’t just a confident—or, God forbid, “promising”—start. It has presence and finish and power.

Album Review | MM Jazz Magazine

Pureum Jin - The Real Blue (CELLAR 020219)

Source: MM Jazz Magazine (mmjazz.net)

Release date: August 2019 issue

by HEE-JOON KIM

Dramatic Jump-up! A Masterpiece Full of Confidence!

It seems the women-power is increasingly dominating Korean jazz scene over the past 3 to 4 years. The trend includes piano and vocals, which has been traditionally strong instruments since the past, but now is expanding and diversifying into other instruments from winds to bass, drums, vibraphone - and we could evidently say it is a visually notable trend as the content of what is played and the level of caliber has come up to a level that cannot be overlooked. 

Alto saxophonist Pureum Jin – the musician I am introducing to the readers through this month’s issue - is a musician with such capacity that can be included into the list. However, she has been releasing her albums through overseas labels ever since her first album in 2013, and maybe this is because she is targeting the North American and European markets instead of smaller Korean market. Her new album released after 6 years from her first one has also been released by an overseas label, and this time it was released through one in the US, not Germany. 

Her musical taste and directions are similar to her last album and the most impressive part is her capacity to play saxophone. Even from her first album, her sleek and natural solos and her tone have been the traits that stood out the most, but it has become even more fluent and natural. I was personally extremely surprised as she so fluently played solos on double tempos and drew out hypnotic solo lines on slow ballads…

(Full article not available on web - magazine scrap)

* Please note the original article is in Korean - the post has been translated for international audience with writer’s consent

cover story | Jazz People Magazine

Source: Jazz People Magazine

Release Date: 08/2019

by KIJOON LEE

Language mastered by listening and through flow

One of the most memorable events while studying in the US is when I got a kind answer for my question of ‘How can one play music as a music should be?’ during a lunch with Ornette Coleman. ‘You should listen to yourself and to other musicians and should fly with the flow. Listen, listen to yourself, listen and out’ (After a while, I’ve realized listening to his music, he often disregarded grammar and used vocabularies that are grammatically incorrect. How Ornette Coleman is that!) Then, he continued saying that if you can really listen to music (well), you shall be happy, even if you don’t play music. If only you can listen.

Saxophonist Pureum Jin is a musician who focuses on listening. Her music is always flowing somewhere. And, she opens up all of her senses to get close to complete improvisation and listens to herself. Her improvisation is based on the flow of her conscious, boldly blocks rational decisions for original musical language, and reacts to flowing music with language of jazz. Express only using the language of senses. Cannonball Adderley was such, and so was Kenny Garrett.

She is a musician who has a clear attitude towards her music, and what she plans to show musically. She knows exactly what kind of musician she needs to grow to become. It was great to meet a musician who I haven’t met for a while, one who has made me curious about her next album – while listening to her hard times and studying abroad, which now she should be proud of, and inner conflict until the album got recorded, affection towards her family members, and getting to play with the legends of New York jazz scene as a female jazz musician.

Interview was fun and comfortable, and she was full of wit. Yet, she was intense and fearless when talking about passion towards music. Pureum Jin, she is a saxophonist who plays knowing exactly what kind of sound she wants.

I am excited about and look forward to seeing more of this horn player in New York who I can speak in a common language.

(Full article not available on web - magazine scrap; posting first page out of 11 page article with interview and comments)

* Please note the original article is in Korean - the post has been translated for international audience with writer’s consent

Album Review | JAZZ PEOPLE Magazine

Pureum Jin - The Real Blue (CELLAR 020219)

Source: Jazz People Magazine (jazzpeople.co.kr)

Date: July 2019 issue

by GUNWOO JANG

Rating 4/5

The value of tradition and intricate technique

Fred Hersch once pointed that many of young musicians in New York are excessively focused on the formality of music. It should have meant that the young musicians tend to focus more on the objective of ‘how the tune is delivered’, but not the ‘voice’ itself. Regardless of whether the statement holds true, it doesn’t change the fact that the traditions of jazz music has been supported mainly by musicians in New York. They’ve treated jazz not as a intellectual study but an interesting story to tell to their fans - meaning that they place a delicate interest on the linguistic interactions between swing, blues and bebop.

Preparing her first studio album in New York, Pureum Jin has gained a valuable foundation at the epicenter of jazz. Pureum Jin had started playing at jazz clubs in college, and, with accumulated experience in the field, she was able to expand her presence in international stages, quickly making herself known as a rising star of Korean jazz. With the reputation she has built in the scene and her artistic abilities, she was guaranteed a wide variety of opportunities in her home country. Nevertheless, she decided to move to New York in that she was eager to challenge herself and avoid the complacency she had started to feel within. She stepped into the fierce competition by moving to a new and a more dangerous foreign country, where the city, the school, bars, and stores are full of music. In the new environment - as if a person wearing a white shirt is worried about getting a stain on the shirt - she always had to check herself to see if she was making progress and things were where she expected them to be.

It will be hard to list out everything she has gained while living in the states and preparing for the album, but one of the most outstanding improvements will be her originality. Pureum has took an extra step from reinterpreting standards to a level where she prepared outstanding original set of tunes. Contrary to her past where she focused much on practicing and honing her skills than delivering significant results, she has placed much emphasis on creating a masterpiece she wanted to direct and carefully delivering the message in the album “The Real Blue.”

‘Ah-Oh-Owa’ is an original tune in which the melody was developed based on her son’s babbles. Despite it could end up being a simple theme, the tune is filled with melodies, owing to her witty ideas on the solo and solid swing feel. Pureum Jin was able to digest in the groove and swing feel that is most American because of her great passion for swing rhythm ever since she started to play music and this had been particularly often been praised by her professors at MSM. ‘Fireflies’ - a symbolic ballad tune in the album - was written based on the inspiration when she first saw fireflies flying around her house in Virginia. A simple saxophone lines and piano melody that fills the atmosphere allows audiences to imagine the twinkling lights in the night sky. Pureum Jin’s ballad is packed with infinite melodic ideas. It is without doubt that the album will be a hit when we consider melody, technique, and rhythm to be the core components of music. In fact, at this moment I am writing this review, Pureum Jin is on a roll receiving praises from everywhere. The album ‘The Real Blue’ has been selected as one of the albums in Lincoln Center’s June new releases roundup, and she has recently received a news that the album will be reviewed by Downbeat Magazine. Pureum Jin’s world of music has just docked at the port of New York, but it seems evident that we’ll be hearing series of news on her successful new projects in the coming years.

Album Review | CDHIPHOP BLOG

Source: CHASECDHIPHOP (cdhiphopandmusicreviews.webnode.com)

Release Date: July 12, 2019

Rating 9/10

Pureum Jin The Real Blue Album Review

Back in 2012 up and coming saxophonist Pureum Jin was recognized as a rising star by Korean magazine Jazz People. Before even having a studio album her talents were foresaw as having the potential to carry over into being the next great saxophonist from South Korea. Now she is based in New York and with that has released "The Real Blue," her first studio album and without a doubt the album meant to solidify her as just that. An interesting fact about the title of this record is that it comes from the translation of her name in Korean. Made even more interesting by the significance of the word blue in jazz music. This record also has a stacked lineup to assist Pureum Jin including pianist and producer Jeremy Manasia, drummer Willie Jones 3, Luke Sellick on bass, and Sabeth Pérez on vocals. Together creating an album unfeigned in expressing the adversity it took to get here.

Of course nothing comes easy when moving to a new country and that is what she did. She had to learn a new language to further pursue a deeper understanding of music through studies at schools like the Manhattan School Of Music, she had become a parent, and after all the tribulations she had to get past in her journey, she was ready to put together an album that was true to her. That album was "The Real Blue" and this is the sound of struggle and perseverance. Her story is clear on tracks like "Trembling Forward" and "The Song Of Silence." Her inspirations come from nature and personals events in her life and influences from jazz greats like John Coltrane. Influenced, yet original. She expresses a lifetime of events through her sax and with the help of the lineup, pulls together everything to make this one of the best jazz records of the year so far. Watch for what she does next in her career, she has gained confidence and puts her soul into every note.

Pureum Jin - “Trembling Forward”

Source: JAZZIZ Magazine (www.jazziz.com)

Release Date: May 31, 2019

by BRIAN ZIMMERMAN

Saxophonist Pureum Jin will release her debut album, The Real Blue, on June 21 on Cellar Live Records.

Pureum Jin’s debut album The Real Blue, which is set for release June 21 on Cellar Live Records, is a gem. And not just in the musical sense. For Pureum, a Korean-born saxophonist now based in New York, unearthing the album took loads of patience and years of perseverance. 

The project began in earnest back in 2012, when Pureum attempted to record an album in her native Korea, even managing to lay down a few tracks in the studio. But the music wasn’t resonating with her, and rather than release something that didn’t feel authentic, she decided to shelve the project altogether. She wanted to get it right.

“I had so many ideas for my last record,” Pureum explained in a phone interview from her apartment in New York. “But it didn’t feel like my own voice, a voice that I can say is truly inside me. I wasn’t confident that I was ready.”

A lot has changed in the seven years since that first go-around. For one, she moved to New York City to pursue a degree at the Manhattan School of Music. Then it was off to Charlottesville, Virginia, where her husband relocated to pursue his own studies. Her first child was born soon after. On top of everything, she had to learn a new language and adapt to a new culture. Life was throwing her challenges, but despite the hardship, she remained dedicated to her craft…

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Jazz Ensemble - Jazz 4 Justice

Source: UVa Music Dept. Webpage (music.virginia.edu)

Release Date: April 2019

Sister Saxophones

On Saturday, April 13, in Old Cabell Auditorium, the UVA Jazz Ensemble, directed by John D’earth, will present their spring concert, Sister Saxophones, featuring rising alto saxophone star Pureum Jin and Grammy award winning baritone saxophonist Lauren Sevian.  This concert is co-sponsored by UVA’s McIntire Department of Music and Jazz 4 Justice, a coalition of jazz lovers from the legal community who have sponsored 48 jazz concerts and raised close to $500,000.00 since 2001 to support legal aid.  (Legal Aid is a way for people with small means to access the courts at need.)

Alto saxophonist, Pureum Jin, is performing to acclaim nationally and internationally.  Pureum is well-known to Charlottesville jazz fans through her residency last year with the Jazz Ensemble and through her work at Miller’s and around the state with D’earth’s Sextet.  She recently moved back to NY with her husband (and new baby, Eden) to pursue their various careers.  But Pureum now has a musical home in Charlottesville that is always here for her.  Within a year of walking into Miller’s one Thursday night in August, 2017, (one of the good things that happened that month!) her energy, creativity, and virtuosity have become an important chapter in Charlottesville’s vibrant jazz story.  Pureum is now putting the finishing touches on her new CD, The Real Blue.

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EJBF 2012: Paul Kirby East-West

Source: Edinburgh Guide (www.edinburghguide.com)

Release Date: 07/31/2012

In amongst the crowd-pleasing hurly-burly and boogie-woogie brought to Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival audiences courtesy of Jools Holland, Curtis Stigers and Kyle Eastwood in terms of mainstream jazz, it was good to come across a few smaller gigs which show that modern jazz still has a few tricks up its sleeves.

This year, a fair few of these shows took place in the Bosco Theatre in George Square. The smallest of the three pavilions erected to lure in the masses once the Edinburgh Fringe goes into hyperdrive, the Bosco also suffers from poor air conditioning, zero soundproofing and seating which would make a church pew seem comfy...

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Rising Star 2012 - Five Young Lions that will lead Korean Jazz Scene

Source: Jazz People Magazine

Release Date: February, 2012

Bonam Koo / Hyemi Kim / Pureum Jin / Minchan Kim / Myunggun Lee

This year, “Rising Star” becomes the fifth year since its inception in 2008. Rising Star, young artists that are gaining much attention in the fields of diverse cultural fields, such as music and movies, means much more than just a selection of artists, as it recognizes their potential and sponsors their growth. This year’s selected rising stars from Korean jazz scene are considered to be ‘The Best’ as they are the ones that are the most active musicians in the field of jazz. Even more, their average age is 26.2 years. It is drawing more attention as it represents that their career has just started. Editors from Jazz People and Jazz musicians have participated in the selection of this year’s rising stars and Taekyun Jeong helped with the pictures. (Venue sponsor: Evans Lounge) ...

(Full Story not available on web - Magazine scrap)