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The Somerville Times (2021)
During a year with little actual travel connecting Boston, Athens and Seoul, the Korean-born pianist and composer Mina Cho has fostered a linear yet expansive musical itinerary of her own. Jazz Weekly "Ringer of the Week" (2021) When you think of musical fusions, one of the last combinations would be Greece and Korea, but that’s what you get with the creative Gugak Jazz Society. World Music Central, "Mending through Music" (2021) Factor in Cho’s nimble piano work frequently taking the lead, Korean vocals that rise and fall to match the intensity of the instruments, and a sense of collaboration that gives every aspect its due. The end result is a winning combination indeed. Artist of the Month, Somerville Arts Council (2020) http://somervilleartscouncil.org/artistmonth/cho?fbclid=IwAR1uKRjhB-spvN3LYSn6SH20ZolGfg-pg5QUFXrfocpK0-1InObvIfGvGSo The Somerville Times (2019) “Pasnori Cantata Gilryungjeon.” The piece reflects Cho’s conception of Shamanistic theology situated in cross-cultural jazz. Wondering what to expect? Think a Western Cantata and a jazz orchestra meet the Korean musical storytelling genre Pansori wherein a blind Pansori singer named Gilryung witnesses the Passion of Christ. |
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Interview, No Depression (2017)
"On her latest album Love Transformation, Cho weaves her jazz influences with classical, Gospel, and world music. Uniting them not only enables her to stimulate her creativity but bring her closer to her ethnic roots." http://54.214.24.122/interview/interview-composerpianist-mina-cho Album Review, No Depression (2017) "The title track is sexy and flavorful ... Running at roughly nine minutes, this track overflows with love and wonder." http://54.214.24.122/album-review/mina-cho-enchants-new-album-love-transformation Album Review, Jazz People (2016) "What is interesting about Mina Cho's album is that there is no particular genre dominant in each track but various genres merge into a new, innovative, and evolving creation" Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) Concert Review, South Korea (2016) http://www.penews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=2139 CJ Culture Foundation Interview (2016) "A Bright Jazz Story of Mina Cho" http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=cjculture_azit&logNo=220729680305&redirect=Dlog&widgetTypeCall=true The Montclair Times (May, 2014) "For Cho, playing music that underscores the connection to the audience is a natural progression from what happens when people come up to her after the show and tell her how her music reminds them of their own lives." Fred Hersch, World Renown Pianist and Composer (November, 2013) "Her philosophical / spiritual emphasis in her music places her in a very special category, and I think she has the potential to be a unique musical voice." The Montclair Times (June, 2013) "There is something profound about what she does. The religious experience is not unlike a musical experience. The way Cho says so much with a few words and notes is very Asian. Her music is purifying." The New Yorker (March, 2013) "The song she played, tentatively, but with determination, was called Simply Love You." DownBeat, Best CDs of the Year of 2011 (January, 2012) DownBeat (January, 2011) "She is a musician of the first order and can already take her place as a significant player." Vintage Guitar Magazine (December, 2010) "I like a Turtle, from her Blink Music debut, Originality, is a spirited marriage of jazz and gospel." Jazz Times (October, 2010) "Mina Cho blends stunning technique and harmonic sophistication on her distinctive debut as a leader. Cho stirs up a rich musical gumbo." Boston Globe (September 28th, 2010) "It was a pair of musical revelations that exposed the young woman, who as a child in Korea had the ambition to become a world-famous classical pianist, first to the emotional force of gospel, and then to the beauty and improvisational potential of South American folk music" Boston Phoenix (September, 2010) "Mina Cho's Originality, in which the young pianist shows on unselfconscious hunger for a mix of forms and formats." IAE Magazine (June-August, 2010) "After watching and listening to Mina Cho play live via her website it became very clear that she is by far one of the most gifted pianists to touch the black and whites. One listen and you’ll see exactly why this Seoul, South Korea native and Berklee College of Music grad deserves your attention.” Boston Herald (April 12th, 2010) “From the time she sat down at a keyboard at 3, Mina Cho’s path in life was directed by a gift that became the desire of her heart.” All About Jazz (July, 2010) “A 2009 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Berklee, with a degree in Film Scoring and Jazz Composition, Mina assembled an international cast of collaborators for the new album, all of whom she met while at Berklee: the young saxophonist Andrew Halchak, guitarist Shu Odamura, South Korean bassist Sam J.C. Lee, and the Venezuelan-born drummer Mario Rodriguez, who shares her reverence for Leo Blanco.” The Urban Music Scene (July, 2010) “Pianist Mina Cho was on track for a dazzling classical career when she first encountered gospel music as a university student in her native Seoul. She sought private study of her new passion, which led her to jazz, a scholarship at Berklee College of Music, and the recording of her first CD. The aptly-titled disc, "Originality," reflects Cho’s distinctive pan-American perspective and singular voice as pianist and composer. It will be released on Blink Music on September 7.” Midwest Record Entertainment (August, 2010) “Cho is the latest to step up, and rather than give us her interpretation of the Blue Note/Verve sound, she checks in with post civil rights/pre-jazz/rock Impulse jazz, and she knows the territory well. Bringing the vibe forward in fine fashion, Cho is a first class piano cooker that more than capably brings it all home. A super find for progressive jazz tastes that don’t mind some of the rougher edges of the original sanded down to make it more palatable but no less challenging.” Indie-Music.com, “Top 25 Nominees” (Finalist, 2010) Indie-Music.com CD Review (July, 2010) “Berklee-trained Korean pianist may describe herself as shy, but that must be in realms other than her music. The words “articulate”, “forthright”, “confident” and “supremely imaginative” spring to mind when listening to her new album "Originality.” This music reassures us that it's still possible to have a vibrant spirit in a world where color and life seem at a premium. After listening to "Originality", one is inspired to not merely engage the world but explore it in all its delicious detail.” |