NEW RELEASE – SUNGTAEK CHOO

South-Korean young gun and Philly-bred pros go to your head.  

“I’m doing well in New York and am very happy to be here,” says South-Korean pianist Sungtaek Choo, who came to the other side of the pond via Amsterdam conservatory. “It really feels like the best place for jazz. There were musicians I used to listen to and longed to play with someday and now I somehow find myself sharing the stage with them. It’s been a dream come true. I’m just trying to keep growing and build a reputation as a reliable sideman.”

Sungtaek’s first EP is called Philly Standards, not NYC Standard Time or some such, which makes perfect sense. New York is crowded with musicians from Philadelphia, not least bassist Mike Boone and drummer Anwar Marshall, Choo’s collaborators on this and harbingers of the Philly groove and vivid interaction.

The inclusion of (Philly’s) McCoy Tyner classics Passion Dance and Blues On The Corner seems like big shoes to fill, but Choo is doing it with verve, a big piano sound, strong and colorful left hand, lines that dart in and out of the waves like dolphins, the waves eventually spilling over the rocks.

For all its vitality, it’s Choo’s deliberate sense of balance – his sparse way of getting into the passionate dance story in particular – that is striking. His is a strong-willed trio, with Boone super-solid and Marshall filling in spaces zealously.

Firmly stated harmonies gel with the elegant turbulence of his melodic patterns. Doesn’t every jazz musician long to be a Mondriaan, yet is mysteriously drawn to a curl here, a spot of blood-red there?

Completed by Just In Time and Kenny Kirkland’s challenging Chance, it becomes clear that recording debutant Sungtaek Choo is making his mark in convincing fashion.

Listen on certain questionable streaming platforms and on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4AVg9bz7us&list=RDB4AVg9bz7us&start_radio=1