The Jingoo Lee Band Turns Korean Cultural Service Gallery into Live Jazz Club for One Unforgettable Evening

After kicking off with an intense, adrenaline-charged drum performance by the New York Korean Traditional Marching Band, the 2012-2013 Open Stage Series took on a much different, much mellower tone for its second day with the Jingoo Lee Band performing fusion jazz for an audience of about 70 people. On Wednesday, October 17th, the Korean Cultural Service’s gallery was transformed into a live jazz club as members of the Jingoo Lee Band grooved and sang their way through a program of eight songs that ranged in style from semi-classical to Latin-infused jazz to contemporary Korean ballad. All of the songs were composed and arranged by Jingoo Lee, the leader and pianist of the band who holds a degree from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts (among other degrees) and has composed music for Korean dramas.

The program kicked off with a piano solo by Jingoo Lee titled “For Milyang Arirang” (밀양 아리랑을 위한 변주곡). Mr. Lee’s contemporary take on this beloved Korean folk song was a jazzy, romantic rendition that made the original melody barely recognizable, but it was nevertheless pleasant and rather refreshing to hear the traditional folk song revived in an entirely different form.

The Jingoo Lee Band, with Dan Lipsitz on the alto saxophone, Chern Hwei Fung on the violin, Rozhan Razman on the bass guitar, John Bishop on the drums, and Jingoo Lee on the piano (Photo by Regina Kim)

Three other members of the band came out on stage for the second song, titled “The First Flying” (첫 비행). With talented Malaysian-born Chern Hwei Fung on the violin, another Malaysian-born musician Rozhan Razman on the bass guitar, New Jersey native John Bishop playing the drums, and Korean composer Jingoo Lee on the piano, the band served up a light-hearted, airy tune that somewhat defied genre classification. It was great to see different races and ethnicities represented in the band, which gave it a more eclectic and collaborative feel.

The mood turned more romantic with the next song, “Milonga” (밀롱가), which began with a piano intro that sounded like instrumental music that you would expect to hear in a Korean drama. But the highlight of the piece was the violin—and its skilled player Chern Hwei Fung, who poignantly executed beautiful melodies that were reminiscent of an old love song.

(Photo by Regina Kim)

The next piece, “New Black Cat Nero” (새 검은 고양이 네로), seemed to be an audience favorite. Alternating between jazzy and Latin sounds, the song had a tango-like quality that made one feel the urge to get up and dance. Mr. Lee asked the audience to “meow” at certain intervals of the song, and the audience played its part well, which further added to the fun, upbeat nature of the song.

The ambiance then took a groovier turn with the heavily bass-infused “Soul Onghaeya!” (소울 옹헤야!), an energetic, funky piece littered with many variations and dramatic crescendos. In “Thinking of You” (너를 생각하며), Roselyse Russo and Sarah Sotomayor from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus belted out a duet from Jingoo Lee’s very own musical titled “Jiah’s Adventure” that is scheduled to premiere next year. Next, jazz singer Vanessa Perea joined the band on stage to lend her silky vocals to the ballad “Home Sick” (향수).

Roselyse Russo and Sarah Sotomayor perform "Thinking of You" (Photo by Regina Kim)

But the true highlight of the evening came at the end, when the band played “Oh My Love Arirang” (오 나의 사랑 “아리랑”), a beautiful and memorable variation on the famous Korean folk song “Arirang.” Personally, the sound of Ms. Perea softly crooning “my Arirang” has been forever ingrained in my memory.

When the program ended and the band left the stage, the audience started to chant “Encore! Encore!” After several rounds of “encores” from the audience, the band finally reappeared and performed a different rendition of “Oh My Love Arirang.” This time, it was Jingoo Lee himself who sang the lyrics, half of which were in Korean. The song had a much different feel to it when it was sung in a male voice and in Korean. Whereas Ms. Perea’s interpretation was in the style of a soft, sweet ballad, Mr. Lee’s version felt more akin to a modern Korean folk song. But in both renditions, the refrain of “Arirang” was particularly beautiful and moving.

Vanessa Perea sings "Oh My Love Arirang"
(Photo by Regina Kim)

Audience reactions after the concert were quite positive. Joe, who lives in the Bronx, remarked, “I love these concerts. Allows me exposure to Korean culture, traditional music, and jazz. That last song was tremendous. I’m not Korean, but I could feel it.” Ed Kuhn, who came to the concert with his family, commented, “I liked it. First time I was exposed to it, and I really enjoyed it.” Matthew King, another member of the audience, echoed these sentiments, saying, “It was awesome. Amazing! I give it a 10. I got what I came here for—great musicians!”

When I asked Mr. Jingoo Lee later via email how he had felt about the concert, he replied, “I was pleased to see that both Koreans and Americans were able to enjoy the concert together and shared similar reactions to the music, which is what I wanted.” He then added, “I’m doing this because I’m very interested in giving a contemporary twist to Korean things in my own way, and I am enjoying and loving every minute of it. If, through my music, people are able to feel that true love and what really matters to them aren’t far away but can be found close to them, then I think that’s great. Personally, I’m dedicating my current album to my beloved wife, daughter, and my parents.”

The band is scheduled to perform at the annual Jeonju International Sori Festival in South Korea next year. For information on this festival, please check out www.sorifestival.com.

Mr. Jingoo Lee is currently working as the music composer and conductor for the Korean musical “Jeong Do Jeon” (정도전), a story about the life of the famous Korean politician Jeong Do Jeon who was largely responsible for shaping Chosun-era Korea. The musical is scheduled to be performed in South Korea on December 8th and 9th, 2012. Mr. Lee is also working on creating a musical for young audiences in the U.S. titled “Jiah’s Adventure.”

This article appears in the book Korean Culture Navigation in NY published by the Korean Cultural Center NY.