Sun-Mi Hong Quintet
“Third Page: Resonance“
The Sun-Mi Hong Quintet is led by its namesake drummer and composer, a Korea native who moved to Amsterdam when she was 22. Over the last five years she has developed this agile quintet, exploring her emotionally driven post-bop with crafty contrapuntal arrangements and irresistible rhythm.
Sun-Mi Hong Quintet
© Beatriz Castelo
Past Dates
Sun-Mi Hong Quintet: “Third Page: Resonance”
(KR, GB, IT)
With the same confidence and vision that took her from her native In-Cheon, Korea to Amsterdam in 2012 when she was just 22, drummer and composer Sun-Mi Hong formed and developed her own agile quintet five years ago. The band recently dropped its third album “Third Page: Resonance”, a fiercely swinging date built from intricate compositions that deploy different parts of her band like pieces in a puzzle to produce a veritable carnival of harmony. Trumpeter Alistair Payne and tenor saxophonist Nicolò Ricci weave Hong’s melodies through structures that hurtle, skitter, and explode, operating like a lighthouse to guide the listener. Hong goes well beyond keeping time, unleashing accent-rich, shape-shifting patterns that both drive the quintet and provide a genuine focal point. Inextricably linked to her drumming is the kaleidoscopic piano playing of Chaerin Im and the limber, woody bass playing of Alessandro Fongaro. On a tune like “Blind” the group reveals a mastery of dynamics and accretion, frequently playing hot potato with the melodic lines between instruments, with different musicians dropping in and out to keep the proceedings fresh and surprising even when the tunes feel as comfortable as an old blanket.
Line-up
Alistair Payne trumpet
Alessandro Fongaro contra bass
Sun-Mi Hong drums, percussion
Nicolò Ricci tenor saxophone
Chaerin Im piano