(Modern Creative, Fusion) [WEB] Linda May Han Oh - Walk Against Wind (Ben Wendel, Matthew Stevens, Justin Brown, Fabian Almazan, Minji Park) - 2017, FLAC (tracks), lossless

http://lindamayhanoh.com/bio.php
Born in Malaysia, raised in Perth, Western Australia, Linda began playing piano, bassoon and at fifteen dabbled on electric bass playing jazz in high school bands while playing a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Linda studied at the W.A Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) where she graduated with first-class honors.
She was a James Morrison Scholarship Finalist in 2003 and in 2004 was an IAJE Sister in Jazz and received the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s award in 2008. She also received an honorary mention at the 2009 Thelonious Monk Bass Competition and received the 2010 Bell Award for Young Australian Artist of the Year. In 2010 she was nominated for the Jazz Journalist’s Awards for Up and Coming Artist of the Year, and received the award of No. 1 Acoustic Bass Rising Star in the Downbeat Critic’s Poll. This same year she received 2nd place at the BASS2010 Competition in Berlin.
Linda completed her Masters at the Manhattan School of Music in 2008 studying with Jay Anderson, John Riley, Phil Markowitz, Dave Liebman and Rodney Jones. She now teaches the precollege division there and is involved in jazz videoconference master-classes for high-schools around the US. As an active teacher she was also involved in creating a series of lessons for the up and coming BassGuru app for iPad and iPhone.
Linda has performed with the musicians such as Joe Lovano, Steve Wilson, Vijay Iyer, Dave Douglas, Kenny Barron, Geri Allen, Fabian Almazan, and Terri Lyne Carrington. She is currently the bassist with guitarist, Pat Metheny.
Linda is an active double bassist, electric bassist and composer, composing music for various ensembles and short films, also participating in the BMI Film Composers Workshop and Sundance Labs at Skywalker Ranch. Linda composed for Sabrina McCormick’s short film “A Good Egg” which was featured in the New York Shorts Festival.
In 2009 her self-released debut trio album “Entry” with Obed Calvaire and Ambrose Akinmusire received some critical attention. It was listed in Artforum magazine as one of Vijay Iyer’s top ten of 2009.
Her second album “Initial Here” released on Greenleaf Records in 2012 features a quartet with Dayna Stephens on tenor sax, Fabian Almazan on piano and Rudy Royston on drums with special guest Jen Shyu on vocals. This album was mentioned several times for album of the year in various jazz polls.
“Sun Pictures” is her third release – a quartet album recorded live at WKCR studios featuring Ben Wendel on tenor saxophone, James Muller on guitar and Ted Poor on drums.
Linda is currently working on her second trumpet trio album and an eight-piece group featuring a string quartet – with music that was commissioned by the Jazz Gallery in 2012. She is now a member of Pat Metheny’s most recent quartet project.

The art of mime, with its embrace of silence and pure physical expression, may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration for a jazz musician. But in “Walking Against the Wind,” one of Marcel Marceau’s best-loved pieces, bassist/composer Linda Oh found a stunning metaphor for the life of an artist. Marceau’s graceful but frustrated motion, which also inspired Michael Jackson’s iconic moonwalk, found the legendary mime fighting against invisible but pervasive forces while also embracing the beauty and pleasure to be found in taking the paths in life that offer greater challenges – but also richer rewards.
On her fourth album, Walk Against Wind, Oh explores both the challenges and the rich rewards of an artist’s journey. “Walk Against Wind is about the paths that we choose,” Oh explains. “Sometimes they end up being the harder paths, but in the long run they prove more fruitful.”
The album is the spiritual successor to Oh’s acclaimed 2013 release Sun Pictures, with returning saxophonist Ben Wendel joined by guitarist Matthew Stevens drummer Justin Brown. In addition, pianist/keyboardist Fabian Almazan and Korean traditional musician Minji Park appear as special guests with the quartet, which has been workshopping Oh’s compositions at a variety of New York hotspots including the 55 Bar, the Jazz Gallery and Minton’s Harlem
- Shaun Brady
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/walk-against-wind-linda-oh-biophilia-records-review-...ayr-attarian.php
On the exquisite Walk Against Wind bassist Linda May Han Oh showcases her unique compositional style that rivals, artistically, her mastery over her instrument and her improvisational prowess. These 11 originals express various motifs reflecting Oh's diverse influences yet a delightfully dark poetry imbues all of them, giving the album its thematic unity.
The intensely cinematic "Speech Impediment," for instance, has a languid melody and shimmering refrains. Oh's Lilting, wordless vocals echo saxophonist Ben Wendel wistful lines. As the tempo picks up the tune becomes crisper and more hypnotic. Wendel and guitarist Matthew Stevens exchange thrillingly dissonant lines over drummer Justin Brown's thunderous beats and Oh's thumping bass. Brown's dynamic solo ushers in the concluding head.
Brown opens the atmospheric "Ikan Bilis" with his haunting drumming that endows the music with a primal spirituality. Pianist Fabian Almazan makes a guest appearance as he and the other band members contribute their respective introspective musings. The individual instrumental voices coalesce into a mystical and memorable ensemble performance that has an undercurrent of subtle funky rhythms. Almazan's chiming keys and Stevens' resonant notes mix in with Oh and Brown's percolating cadence to buoy Wendel's warmly wailing tenor.
Another guest, Korean traditional percussionist Minji Park, adds an Eastern touch to the expectant "Mantis" with her exotic janggu & kkwaenggwari. Oh takes center stage with complex and lyrical extemporization that is intriguingly crepuscular. Wendel's yearning, fiery phrases thrillingly contrast with the contemplative serenity of the rest of the track.
The pensive and dramatic "Deepsea Dancers" demonstrates Western Classical hints especially in the melodic fragments that are its building blocks. Stevens and Wendel alternate eloquent spontaneous monologues that are sometimes stimulatingly angular and at others elegantly fluid. Oh's muscular reverberations and Brown's soft thuds and brushing add an element of tension to the overall mood.
Walking Against Wind is a mature work that perfectly balances different musical elements. The prewritten and the spontaneously created seamlessly meld and miscellaneous inspirations fuse into a singular and sublime whole. It is Oh's best release to date and, hopefully, a sign of what is to come next.

Linda Oh - acoustic bass
Ben Wendel - tenor saxophone
Matthew Stevens - guitar
Justin Brown - drums
Fabian Almazan - piano (tracks 2, 6, 10)
Minji Park - janggu & kkwaenggwari (track 8)