Connie Han
{{short description|Pianist, Composer, and Arranger}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Connie Han
| image =
| caption =
| landscape =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1996|2|4|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, US
| genre = Jazz
| instrument = Piano
| occupation = Musician, composer
| years_active =
| label = Mack Avenue
| website = {{URL|http://www.conniehan.com/}}
}}
Connie Han (born 4 February 1996) is an American composer and pianist in the jazz, 20th-century classical, and experimental music idioms. She has recorded three albums as a leader for Mack Avenue Records.
Early life
Han was born in Los Angeles, California, to Chinese parents, both of whom were professional musicians.{{cite magazine |last=Fukushima |first=Gary |date=November 2022 |title=Connie Han: The Jazz Warrior-Goddess |magazine=DownBeat |volume=89 |issue=11 |pages=30–35 |access-date=}} She was taught piano from the age of five, initially by her mother. She became interested in jazz in high school, where she was taught by drummer Bill Wysaske. Han opted not to study music in college, and became a professional musician at the age of 17, with Wysaske as her trio's musical director.{{cite magazine |last=Payne |first=Brian |date=2020 |title=Connie Han: Iron Starlet |url=https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2020/07/19/connie-han-iron-starlet/ |magazine=Jazz Journal |access-date=October 23, 2022}}
Later life and career
Wysaske produced Han's debut album, The Richard Rodgers Songbook, which was self-released in 2015. She subsequently signed to Mack Avenue Records, which released her Crime Zone in 2018. Han wrote seven of the album's ten tracks.{{cite magazine |last=Morrison |first=Allen |date=November 2018 |title=Connie Han: Crime Zone |magazine=DownBeat |volume=85 |issue=11 |page=60}} The album included Wysaske and Edwin Livingston (bass) and the guest musicians Walter Smith III (saxophone) and Brian Swartz (trumpet).{{Cite web|url=https://www.mackavenue.com/store/mac1140|title=Crime Zone|website=Mackavenue.com|accessdate=2 February 2021|archive-date=5 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905135317/https://www.mackavenue.com/store/mac1140|url-status=dead}} The title track is inspired by films such as Blade Runner and the anime movie Akira.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mackavenue.com/artists/connie-han/|title=Connie Han|website=Mackavenue.com|accessdate=2 February 2021}} A New York Times reviewer at the time praised her technique and knowledge of the history of the music.{{cite web |first1=Jon |last1=Pareles |first2=Jon |last2=Caramanica |first3=Joe |last3=Coscarelli |first4=Caryn |last4=Ganz |first5=Giovanni |last5=Russonello |first6=Elysa |last6=Gardner |title=Pop and Jazz Fall Preview: 70 Albums, Shows and Festivals |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/arts/music/fall-pop-jazz-calendar.html |website=The New York Times |date=September 12, 2018 |page=AR109 |access-date=November 15, 2018}}
In 2019, Han was named a Steinway Artist.{{Cite web|url=https://www.steinway.com/artists/connie-han|title=Connie Han - Steinway & Sons|website=Steinway.com|accessdate=2 February 2021}} In the same year, JAZZIZ magazine featured Han in "The Shape of Jazz to Come: Artists to Watch in 2019", 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."{{Cite web|url=https://www.jazziz.com/the-shape-of-jazz-to-come-artists-to-watch-in-2019/|title=The Shape of Jazz to Come: Artists to Watch in 2019|first=Brian|last=Zimmerman|website=Jazziz.com|date=31 January 2019|accessdate=2 February 2021}}
Composing and playing style
The DownBeat reviewer of Crime Zone described Han's compositions on the album as having "angular melodies and odd, abruptly shifting meters".
The DownBeat reviewer of Iron Starlet wrote that, compared with Han's piano playing on the album, on Fender Rhodes "her approach to the music shifts considerably. The emphasis turns to repeating melodic phrases and finding the right glassy tones to apply".{{cite magazine |last=Ham |first=Robert |date=June 2020 |title=Connie Han: Iron Starlet |magazine=DownBeat |volume=87 |issue=6 |page=39}}
Discography
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| style="text-align:center;"|Year recorded
!Year released !Title !Label !Notes |
|---|
| |2015
|The Richard Rodgers Songbook |Self-released |with Chris Colangelo (Kontrabass), Bill Wysaske (Schlagzeug)Tom Lord, The Jazz Discography (online, accessed 10 January 2019). |
| |2018
|Crime Zone |Some tracks trio, with Edwin Livingston (bass), Bill Wysaske (drums); some tracks quartet, with Walter Smith III (tenor sax) added; one track quintet, with Brian Swartz (trumpet) added; one track solo piano |
| 2019
|2020 |Iron Starlet |Quintet, with Walter Smith III (tenor sax), Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Ivan Taylor (bass), Bill Wysaske (drums){{Cite web|url=https://www.mackavenue.com/store/mac1171|title=Connie Han: Iron Starlet |website=Mackavenue.com |access-date=October 23, 2022}} |
| |2022
|Secrets of Inanna |Quintet with Bill Wysaske (drums), John Patitucci (bass, acoustic), Rich Perry (tenor sax), Katisse Buckingham (flute)Connie Han: Secrets of Inanna album review @ All About Jazz: [https://www.allaboutjazz.com/secrets-of-inanna-connie-han-mack-avenue-records Connie Han: Secrets of Inanna album review @ All About Jazz], access-date: June 16, 2023 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- {{AllMusic|artist|id=mn0003764815}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Han, Connie}}
Category:21st-century American pianists
Category:21st-century American women pianists
Category:American jazz pianists