(Reprinted from the April 2021 issue of Downbeat magazine)
In 2018, South Korean composer/leader Jihye Lee won the BMI Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize for her big band original, “Unshakeable Mind,” which led to a commission for a second, “Revived Mind.” These two compositions, complex pieces woven out of simple threads, help to understand the high concept behind Lee’s second release for Motéma Music, Daring Mind: the composer’s ruminations on New York City, her adopted home.
There’s nothing literal in Lee’s writing—no honking horns or screeching trains or noisy chatter. Rather, Lee translates into music the emotional essence of the urban environment. She’ll unleash the rhythm section on the wispy woodwinds to signal unexpected aggression, for instance, or deploy the horn section, lost in feathery upsweeps, to conjure the thrill of new adventures. Lee uses these devices on the BMI-sponsored pieces, the presumed seed thoughts for the album, but expands into ominous dissonance and jarring staccato on “Dissatisfied Mind” and bustling brass over soothing, repetitious chordal sections on “Relentless Mind.” Expressive as they are, these four thematically related selections conjure decided mental images.
The album’s remaining five tracks explore Lee’s flair for disparate moods. The 6/8 feel of “Suji” is all the more intoxicating for its subdued instrumentation, in contrast with the slow three of “Struggle Gives You Strength,” an anthem of rousing proportions (with standout soloing by trumpeter Sean Jones). On “I Dare You” Lee plays with established big band idioms, recontextualized in this modern setting; later, on “Why Is That,” she plunges into a swinging blues, almost as a nod to the traditionalism she earlier eschewed.
The album’s final composition, “GB,” draws on Lee’s interest in scoring and serves as a capstone for the collection. Stirring and filmic in scope, the tune changes hue at every turn—just like the city that so captivates Lee’s imagination.—Suzanne Lorge
Daring Mind: Relentless Mind; Unshakable Mind; Suji; I Dare You; Revived Mind; Struggle Gives You Strength; Why Is That; Dissatisfied Mind; GB. (1:04:46)
Personnel: Jihye Lee, compositions; Sean Jones, trumpet; Ben Kono, reeds; Rob Wilkerson, reeds; Quinsin Nachoff, reeds; Jeremy Powell, reeds; Carl Maraghi, reeds; Brian Pareschi, trumpets; John Lake, trumpets; Sean Jones, trumpets; Alex Norris, trumpets; Mike Fahie, trombone; Alan Ferber, trombone; Nick Grinder, trombone; Mark Patterson, trombone (2,5); Jennifer Wharton, trombone; Adam Birnbaum, piano; Haeun Joo, piano (2,5,8); Sebastian Noelle, guitar; Evan Gregor, bass; Mark Ferber, drums.