Yeahwon Shin, Aaron Parks & Rob Curto - Lua ya (2013)

South Korean singer Yeahwon Shin's ECM debut, Lua ya is a gentle album of songs and lullabies, recorded in 2012 in the spacious acoustics of Mechanics Hall, near Boston. It's a very intuitive set, shaped as Yeahwon says by "improvising, listening to our childhood memories and letting the music flow".

Shin and pianist Aaron Parks played together just once before the present recording, finding "an instant improvisational connection" which is further explored here. Accordionist Rob Curto shares with Yeahwon an affinity for Brazilian music and has collaborated with her previously (in contexts including her Latin Grammy-nominated album 'Yeahwon' on ArtistShare). But this ECM disc is a project beyond the idiomatic borderlines: Korean children's songs are amongst the inspirational sources, and jazz has influenced the phrasing and imagination of all three participants, yet Lua ya seems to emerge from a place of pure music and a common reservoir of feeling. Yeahwon Shin dedicates the set to mothers and children everywhere.

Born in Seoul, Yeahwon's musical talents began to emerge on the piano at the age of five. After studying at Korea's Dong-Duk music university, she moved to New York in 2005 to attend the New School University Jazz and Contemporary Music program. She made her debut international recording in 2009, with, amongst others, bassist Ben Street, drummer Jeff Ballard, pianist Kevin Hays, percussionist Cyro Baptista, and tenor saxophonist Mark Turner. One of Yeahwon's most cherished musical influences, popular Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist Egberto Gismonti, was a special guest.

Tracklist:

1. Lullaby
2. Moving Clouds
3. Island Child
4. Mysteries
5. The Moonwatcher and the Child
6. The Orchard Road
7. Remembrance
8. Beads of Rain
9. A Morning Song
10. Travel Blue
11. Beads of Rain, var
12. The Orchard Road, var
13. Sunrise

Personnel:

Yeahwon Shin (voice),
Aaron Parks (piano),
Rob Curto (accordion).