Born in Seoul, South Korea, and currently living in Brooklyn, NYC, DoYeon Kim sings and plays the Korean instrument the gayageum, an ancient Korean zither. She’s also a composer and improviser of considerable skill, with all of her talents driving the brilliance of her debut album as leader Wellspring, which is available on vinyl, compact disc, and digital May 1 through the TAO Forms label. Featuring creative cyclones Tyshawn Sorey on drums, Mat Maneri on viola, and Henry Fraser on bass, the record’s contemporary resonance is abundant. It will assuredly be among the best of the year.
As a fan of free jazz, avant-improv, and associated exploratory musics, it can be a treat to hear instruments from outside of the standard sphere of reeds, valves, keys, drums, and bass. Mallet axes, guitars, and bowed-string contraptions (such as the viola as heard on this album) are less prevalent but still common enough that they don’t deliver a level of anticipatory excitement that’s comparable to sitting down at a quality restaurant and unexpectedly dining on a rare delicacy.
Accordions, hurdy-gurdies, mbiras, harps, synthesizers, Theremins, harpsichords, didgeridoos, bagpipes, sitars, harmoniums, gayageums: what ultimately elevates these unusual timbres and textures far above mere novelty is heightened ability combined with the sincere desire to express.
DoYeon Kim’s journey to the strikingly powerful Wellspring is an interesting one. She began playing the gayageum as a hobby before moving on to serious study that eventually led her to the New England Conservatory. It was there that Kim’s initial encounters with free improvisation left her perplexed and unimpressed.
This reaction isn’t unusual for listeners or players. In Kim’s case, it was a necessary step in breaking away from the dominant traditional emphasis when playing the gayageum. In relation to composition, she’d already been branching out. Slowly becoming acclimated to free improv was just another step in her progression.
In terms of numbers, Kim’s recorded output is still rather modest, which can be good news for listeners just discovering her presence on the scene. She has a few co-leader CDs out, including a pair of duo sets, Macrocosm with guitarist Joe Morris from 2018, and Syzygy Vol. 1 with bassist Brandon Lopez from just last year.
The playing from the quartet across Wellspring climbs to a high level and doesn’t falter. Kim plays both the 12-string and 25-string gayageum on the album, and, even outside instrumental norms, the sound is organic and warm. Kim’s vocals and her words, which are included in translation, significantly deepen an already impressive record.
The music across Wellspring is stirring in its intensity but is focused on positivity and healing even during its wildest stretches. Intended to be considered together, “Linear System” and “Calculus of Our Souls” are appropriately sequenced last in the order. Taken as a whole, DoYeon Kim’s debut as leader is a vessel of hope in a time that desperately needs it.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A
