SE:UM Korean Jazz-Folk Fusion

In 2013, a group of jazz players and Korean traditional musicians started to play jam sessions based on traditional Korean folk melodies and shamanistic rhythms, eventually forming SE:UM. The eclectic quintet is composed of saxophonist Hachul Song, trumpeter Jongsang Park, bassist Jaeha Lee, traditional percussionist Minhyeong Lee, and gayageum (twelve-stringed Korean zither) player and music director, Joon Lee. The members of SE:UM have learned to respect one another’s musicalities over the years, and succeeded in breaking down the borders between their musical conventions, finding balance and harmony in their own music.

In 2015 SE:UM’s debut album was nominated for Best Crossover Album and Best Jazz & Crossover Performance at the Korea Music Awards. They were also selected as a Choice Artist by the two biggest international performing arts markets in Korea, PAMS and APaMM. In the same year, SE:UM made a splash at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, receiving the highest five-star review. Since then, SE:UM has performed around the world from the UAE to the US, and expanded its musical boundaries collaborating with ever diverse partners.

On this tour they will perform a concert titled “Korean Breath: Ten Thousand Waves” which includes music from their most recent album, Ten Thousand Waves. Recorded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the album is based on the Korean folktale about the legendary bamboo pipe that saved the perilous world.

“Bringing jazz and Korean traditions together, SE:UM have found the perfect recipe in their atmospheric show Korean Breath. Modestly done, the artistry of the instruments playing is astounding; from saxophone to traditional stringed instrument gayageum, these musicians know how to manipulate the audience’s emotions.” — BroadwayBaby