Korean singer Hyeonseon Baek arrived in NYC via Maastricht University, in The Netherlands and the New England Conservatory in Boston, Mass.
Upon first listening I was somewhat gender-confused, the name (pronounced Hen-son Bek) gave no clues and nor did the voice which initially had me thinking mezzo-contralto or maybe a tenor with a wide range. As Caravan rolled along I began to lean towards the latter and I was right although his wide range made my earlier hesitation understandable.
There are two tenors in this musical ménage à cinque, the other being tenor saxist Lucas Pino. Paradoxically Pino, who had a fine solo on Caravan, doesn't play on the next track Black Narcissus composed by another tenor saxophone player the late Joe Henderson. Instead it's Baek who interprets the melody before engaging in some improvised counter point with Hays. Oh, who isn't Korean but Malaysian born, Australian schooled and now an associate professor at Berklee waxes lyrical on bass.
Mingus' Duke Ellington's Sound of Love: the vocal cool and laid back capturing the moment ably aided and abetted by Hays who's with him all the way.
The first of Baek's four originals, West 4th St. is a bopper with a difference - it's sung in Korean! Although I do find that most scat choruses sound as if they're being sung in Korean. Pino's solo however, is pure all-American. On the final track West 4th St. is reprised in English.
Baek also wrote Longing and My Temptation. Both wistful ballads that didn't quite connect with me although Pino's tenor on the latter spices things up.
Lush Life has many pitfalls for a singer: the complex changes, the tricky lyrics and the knowledge that Nat 'King' Cole and Johnny Hartman with John Coltrane had already set the benchmark and they were a hard act to follow. Still, Baek does do it justice.
A Timeless Place turns out to be Jimmy Rowles' The Peacocks but the words are Norma Winstone's. A drifting, ethereal piece with a rambling solo by Hays.
Horace Silver's Peace opens with an unaccompanied bass solo by Oh. Baek himself brings peace to the piece in a gently soporific manner
After all this eine klein nachtmusik, West 4th St. - this time in English - comes as a welcome wake-up call. More gutsy tenor from Pino and a vocal from Baek that suggests he is the logical successor to the late greats Mark Murphy and Jon Hendricks. Time will tell.
The album was released on April 26 which will give you an idea of the backlog I have of albums queuing up for review! Lance
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