The craft is tight, the feeling is refreshing, the sound is quick and precise...covering a full range of expressive energy.
With Nomad, tenor saxophonist Jordan VanHemert celebrates Korean culture through the melodies of both ancient and contemporary folk and children's songs, distilled through a modern jazz aesthetic and the open sonic canvas of the saxophone trio. His warm sound, unhurried phrasing and swinging melodicism are perfectly suited for high-level exploration of the jazz canon, but here, mainly with the eminent bassist Rodney Whitaker and David Alvarez III on drums, VanHemert offers a new repertoire, reminiscent of the creative choices rolled out by Sonny Rollins's trios over the decades. Following his 2021 release, I Am Not A Virus, which dealt head-on with the reality of anti-Asian hate crimes and prejudice, Nomad "...wanders and weaves through the story of our complex relationships with being Korean American. There is joy, there is sorrow (han), and through it all, there is the authenticity of the Asian American experience."
Track Listing:
1. Bird, Bird, Bluebird 5:41 Korean Traditional
2. Imjin River Song 6:26 SeYong Park
3. Half Moon 4:38 GeukYoung Yoon
4. Doraji Taryeong (White Mountain Flower) 6:21 Korean Trad
5. Arirang Alone 3:53 Han Dol
6. Spring in My Hometown 3:47 NanPa Hong
7. Arirang Alone 5:45 Han Dol
8. Half Moon 4:36 GeukYoung Yoon
All arrangements by Jordan VanHemert
Performers:
Jordan VanHemert - saxophone
Rodney Whitaker - bass
David Alvarez III - drums
Sharon Cho - vocals (3,7)
Lisa Sung - piano (3,7)
Nathan Borton - guitar (3)
John Webber - bass (3)
Max Colley III - drums (3)
Jeff Shoup - drums (7)
Production Info:
Produced by Jordan VanHemert
Recorded by Josef Deas at Big Sky Recording,
Ann Arbor, MI on July 18, 2021,
except: (3,7) Recorded by Drew Elliot at Local Legend Recording, Grand Rapids, MI on June 7, 2021 (3), & Hope College Studios, Holland, MI, Mar. 27, 2021 (7)
Mixed by Drew Elliot, Wheaton, IL
Mastered by Jim Alfredson, Lansing, MI
Photography by Jamie Pratt Photos
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
Reviews of Nomad
Midwest Record (Chris Spector)
Korean jazz that springs from the Midwest but has a Sonny Rollins sense of skronk, toned down. This is what they mean by multi culti cross pollination. It's the sound of something new and it takes you places out of the ordinary while not going too far off the beaten path. ...
