Seoul’s right on the mark nowadays for welcoming some top names in the industry to its doors. And this spring’s Seoul Jazz Festival 2009 is keeping right up there with that new line of musical thought. Perhaps the biggest draw this year will be the duo from the movie Once. Billed as The Swell Season, both Glen Hassard and Marketa Irglova will play Friday, May 15th with The Frames (as they did earlier this year) and then again on Saturday, May 16th for a much more intimate performance as a duo. Needless to say, they are outstanding live. I saw them in January, earlier this year, and the reception and set list were second to none. Honestly, if you haven’t seen them live yet, do yourself a favour and do so.
Other acts include the funky Tower of Power, talented and versatile Dutch singer-songwriter Wouter Hamel and the sultry-voiced Madeleine Peyroux. Incognito and the incredibly gifted Omar Sosa will also be playing. The festival will be held at Sejong’s Grand Theater. If you have any questions, you can call Private Curve directly at 02-563-7110 or visit the official website for more information (www.privatecurve.com).
Get your tickets early. They will sell out. Fast.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I haven’t seen The Swell Season live, and would really like to, so thanks for the heads-up. I can’t believe the Seoul Jazz Festival is here again – man, time flies! Incognito (which played at last year’s festival as well) has continued to put out great music for decades, and are also well worth checking out.
Cheers for that, Gregory – I’ll be checking with my wife when she gets home from work.
“Jazz” is loosely used here; these guys are funk, fusion and “world” music types — not Jazz.
I wish the promoters would bill this event differently since it is very misleading.
Whatever happened to the Blue Note? hahaha
Funk? Which ‘guys’ were you referring to? Glen Hassard? Wouter Hamel? You check the links, R. Elgin? Maybe you should do so instead of spoiling it for the rest of us.
Aren’t festivals really about letting lose and having fun? Just my two cents. But thanks for coming out.
“Tower of Power” is a old group that has done the funk thing back in the 70′s but is more R&B. If Hamel is a Jazz pianist, then so is my mom.
Sorry to say it but you really have no clue what you are talking about — the promoters are up to calling anything and everything “Jazz”, albeit the music might be decent for what it is.
Good. Then enjoy it for what it is: fun.
Good. Then enjoy it for what it is: fun.
And it is that. Frankly, it’s not much different in other cities around the world – heck, I once saw Nigerian Jùjú performer Sunny Adé at Seattle’s premier jazz club, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, under a jazz billing! I went there to see the music (which was great), and enjoyed myself.
Tickets to these shows run from 44,000 to 110,000 won, so if you’re thinking about going but don’t know who’s playing, go out on the Interweb™ for a look and a listen. That’s what I did after visiting the Private Curve website and discovering Rachael Yamagata’s great voice. I don’t know whether she’d get labelled jazz, alternative or adult contemporary, since any of those labels might fit, but I know I like her voice.
If you like music, check out the website and do a little surfing to learn about any artists you don’t know – who knows, you might end up having some fun.
“gbnhj”, if you like that Incognito stuff, you should listen to Bella Fleck and the Flecktones or for a more worldly Jazz group, Guillermo Klein (Argentine) and his group “Los Gauchos”, which might have gotten Miguel Zenon — one hell of an alto saxophonist — to show up or maybe even have Gonzalo Rubalcaba (pianist) back in town instead.
I just wish these promoters could have actually brought someone playing Jazz instead of . . . ?
I’ve heard Madeline Peyroux only on CDs but her voice is quite nice and is favourably compared to that of Billie Holiday.
Thanks for the tip, R. Elgin. I’m already familiar with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, but haven’t heard of Los Gauchos before – I’ll give them a listen.
I like Incognito, but also I admire their ability, after all these years, to continue to put out music which sounds good. That may seem like a small accomplishment, but it’s hard for many artists to do over the long haul. Frankly, I’ve seen TOP before, and they’re working off of their past greatness more than bringing something fresh and new to the audience. That doesn’t make them bad, not at all, but you shouldn’t go expecting fresh new material on par with their past achievements.
Hassard and Irglová aren’t jazz, but they’re fantastic together. It’s a tough call, deciding whether it would be better to see them with The Frames or as a duet.
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