JazzNights (36)

Texas born and educated Helen Sung is another of the remarkable group of pianists who were semifinalists at the 1999 Monk Competition (JazzNights has been lucky enough to have presented two others from that group, Orrin Evans and John Stetch). She started as a classical pianist, and says she was turned on to jazz when she heard Tommy Flanagan's trio's (Elvin Jones, George Mraz) "Confirmation" CD. She clearly had good taste from the very beginning, as well as the strength of character to resist all sorts of pressures not to enter the difficult world of jazz. After getting her bachelors and masters degrees from The University of Texas, she was in the first class at the Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, then based at the New England Conservatory, and graduated in 1997. She played in the Boston scene, and came to New York shortly thereafter.

Her growth in the years since the Monk Competition has been extraordinary, and she started at a very high starting level! Her technique has always been prodigious; to that she's added sensitivity and the depth that comes from added years of playing. She's studied and played with the best: Barry Harris, Sir Roland Hanna were early piano teachers, and she has worked with Clark Terry, Regina Carter, and T. S. Monk among many others, including a duo gig with Ron Carter at the Rubin Museum "Jazz in the Himalayas" series. Like so many of today's young jazz musicians, she's played with the Mingus Big Band and still makes an occasional appearance with that great ensemble. She is increasingly prominent as a leader, and has three recent and excellent CDs "Push," (2003) mostly a small group session largely devoted to originals, "Helenistique," (2006) a collection of (mostly) jazz standards, including some quite adventuresome ones, and "Sungbird," a 2007 quintet CD strongly influenced by the work of Albeniz.

"WOW! Very rarely has the combination of jazz and classical genres worked out...Pianist Helen Sung has done it right, intertwining solo piano works in the Romantic vein with mixtures of band pieces that imbibe influences from Coltrane to Jamal...I personally guarantee you will be as fascinated by this disc on the 20th listening as on the first. Find it now!

-George W. Harris, AAJLA/Jazzweekly.

She has an affinity for odd meters, it seems, which naturally leads her to Monk (The Waiting Game, a Monkish Sung original and Ugly Beauty on Push, and Bye Ya on Helenistique). Her treatment of standards can be unusual, and she is unafraid of taking on, for example, James P. Johnson's Carolina Shout, a daunting task indeed, given the strength of James P's version. This tune is a legendary test case, one used to sort out the pros from the amateurs. Helen's a pro. On Henenistique, she also plays Ellington's classic Cottontail (aka Shuckin'), written for the great tenor player Ben Webster. Ben's intensity comes through in her version.

What is there to say about Ron Carter? The Dean of Bassists, and along with Jimmy Blanton and Ray Brown, one the three most influential musicians ever on his instrument. Winner of awards, Grammys, and polls, he is certain to be in the Downbeat Hall of Fame. He began as a classical cellist, an instrument - along with the picolo bass - on which he occasionally appears. He graduated from the Eastman School in Rochester and the Manhattan School of Music, and has always been a vital force in jazz education. He is currently Distinguished Professor Emeritus at CCNY, and continues on the Board of Directors of the Harlem Jazz Music Center. He has an Honorary Degree from The Berklee School in Boston.

Mr. Carter was a member of the second great Miles Davis Quintet (Miles, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams), and is a leader or supporting person on hundreds of recordings. He is as vital as ever; for example, in the last month he's led a trio (with Mulgrew Miller) in New York and toured in both Europe and Japan. A book author himself, Mr. Carter is the subject of a recent biography by Dan Ouellette. He is, quite simply, the best around and we are honored to have him at JazzNights.

Some representative Media:

Book: Finding the Right Notes, Dan Ouellette, Artistshare

Websites, both filled with useful material including sound samples: http://www.helensung.com/ http://www.roncarter.net/officialSite.html

CDs:

Flanagan, Mraz, Jones, Confirmation. ENJA 40142

Sung, Push, with Brian Blade, Marcus Strickland, Jeffrey Haynes, Fresh Sound FSNT 169

Helenistique, with Lewis Nash, Derrick Hodge, Fresh Sound FSNT 251

Sungbird, after Albeniz , with Marcus Strickland, Reuben Rogers, Nasheet Waits, Samuel Torres, Sunnyside 1173

Carter, with The Miles Davis Quintet, The Complete at the Plugged Nickel Sessions on Columbia, Columbia 7464669552

So What, with Kenny Barron, Lewis Nash, Blue Note,724349497627

Stardust, with Benny Golson, Joe Locke, Sir Roland Hanna, Lenny White, Blue Note, 72433781323

My Romance, with Herb Ellis, Kenny Barron, Jazz Heritage, 514070T

The Bass and I, with Stephen Scott, Lewis Nash, Steve Kroon, Blue

Note 72438569829

And many, many more.