Connie Han

Connie Han (born 4 February 1996) is an American jazz pianist, Steinway Artist,[1] and Mack Avenue recording artist.[2] In 2019, JAZZIZ magazine featured Han in "The Shape of Jazz to Come: Artists to Watch in 2019",[3] and Paste ranked Han among the twelve jazz musicians to "keep an eye on in 2019".

Biography

Han was raised in a family of musicians in Los Angeles, California. She was taught piano from an early age. At the age of 14 became interested in jazz when she attended Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Her mentor there was the drummer Bill Wysaske, who later also produced her first album and supervised her trio. At 17 she got a commitment to perform at UCLA for three weeks. In 2015 she released her debut album The Richard Rodgers Songbook, which was self-published. This was followed by a recording contract with Mack Avenue Records and the production Crime Zone with compositions by Han/Wysaske, a musical tribute to her idols McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Kenny Kirkland. The album included Wysaske and Edwin Livingston (bass) and the guest musicians Walter Smith III (saxophone) and Brian Swartz (trumpet).[4] The title track is inspired by films like Blade Runner and the anime movie Akira.[2]

In 2019, Han was named a Steinway Artist.[1] In the same year, JAZZIZ magazine featured Han in "The Shape of Jazz to Come: Artists to Watch in 2019",[3] claiming that Han embodies her primary jazz influences McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Kenny Kirkland "in way of spirit and energy, not mere reproduction." Her original compositions from Crime Zone "were firmly stamped with her own artistic vision, and it's a vision that she will certainly continue to expand through 2019 and beyond."

Music critic Bill Milkowski ranks Han among the twelve jazz musicians to "keep an eye on in 2019".[2]

Discography
  • Connie Han Interprets the Richard Rodgers Songbook (2015) with Chris Colangelo (Kontrabass), Bill Wysaske (Schlagzeug)[5]
  • Crime Zone (2018)
  • Iron Starlet (2020)

References
  1. "Connie Han - Steinway & Sons". Steinway.com. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  2. "Connie Han". Mackavenue.com. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  3. Zimmerman, Brian (31 January 2019). "The Shape of Jazz to Come: Artists to Watch in 2019". Jazziz.com. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  4. "Crime Zone". Mackavenue.com. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  5. Tom Lord The Jazz Discography (online, wisited 10 January 2019)
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