[TR24][OF] Youn Sun Nah - Waking World - 2022 (Vocal Jazz)

Airelle Besson - Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Guillaume Latil - Cello
Héloise Lefebvre - Violin
Thomas Naïm - Banjo, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Xavier Tribolet - Drums, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Piano (Electric), Synthesizer
Laurent Vernerey - Bass (Acoustic), Bass (Electric)
Youn Sun Nah - Vocals, Programming

https://www.younsunnah.com/biography/
(born on August 28, 1969 in Seoul/Korea) grew up in a musical family: her father was a conductor, her mother a classical singer. She made her musical debut as a singer at age 23 with a concert with the Korean Symphony Orchestra, and went on to perform in numerous Korean musicals on a national stage, for which she has received numerous awards.
However, she did not find that musical environment fulfilling. She decided to go to Paris in 1995 to study jazz and French chanson at the CIM school (one of the oldest jazz schools in Europe), at the National Music Institute of Beauvais, and at the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Conservatory. Her innate talent for jazz revealed itself when she started playing in Parisian jazz clubs with her group, the Youn Sun Nah 5tet. She made her rounds on the Paris club scene, performances that would earn her invitations to work with many famous musicians. Youn Sun Nah made strong showing in a number of jazz competitions like La Défense, St. Maur, and Montmartre. She became the buzzword in theatres and festivals all over France, while also performing in Korea, essentially managing simultaneous careers in two countries.
Producing five albums in six years, she held numerous performances in France, Europe, and in Asia including Korea. Such vigorous activity would earn her an award as “Best Artist” in the Crossover category in Korea in 2004. The same year, the release of So I Am... was widely celebrated by French audiences as well as the press, who regarded her as one of the most remarkable singers of this generation. Active touring and musical performances finally came to fruition in the form of the Grand Prize at the highly reputable Jazz à Juan Concours in 2005, in addition to the prize of Best Young Artist Of The Year in Korea. Youn Sun Nah established her position as a premiere jazz artist in the Asian music scene and marketplace with the album Memory Lane, co-produced with Denmark’s top pianist Niels Lan Doky and Korean bassist Kim Jeong-Ryul in 2007. She also earned recognition from the American media and noted personalities from around the world with an invitation and performance at the Jazz at Lincoln Center, which would launch her to world stardom.
She is an artist who never fails to move audiences wherever she may be performing, in Europe, USA, Australia, and Asia. In 2009 ACT has signed her as an exclusive artist.

For the first time in her career, Youn Sun Nah wrote all of the songs that comprise her forthcoming collection. For Youn Sun Nah writing was a way to find light in dark times, a way to continue her growth as an artist, and the result is 11 haunting compositions that make up her eleventh studio album.
"I always thought I wasn't ready to take on the role of composer," says Youn Sun Nah, who released her debut album 20 years ago. Until now, she has mainly interpreted the melodies of others - most recently those of Leonard Cohen or Motown icon Marvin Gaye on her 2019 album Immersion, which JazzTimes praised for its "...pointed diction, a mastery of slow-flow aesthetics, noted appreciation for space, and pitch-perfect clarity." On Waking World she turns to exclusively original compositions that alternate between levity and painful insight, bearing her signature mix of pop sensibility, folk intimacy, and innovative jazz instrumentation.
Hailed as "one of the most beautiful voices in contemporary jazz" (Le Figaro), Seoul-born singer Youn Sun Nah went on her first tours and won prizes in jazz festivals and competitions at the turn of the year 2000. This was the beginning of a long list of distinctions culminating with the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres title awarded by the French Ministry of Culture in 2009 and the Sejong Culture Prize awarded by the Korean government in 2014.
From her first album Light For The People, released in 2001 in Korea, to 2008's Voyage, which was released worldwide, she firmly established herself as a vocal jazz star. Her 2010 album Same girl, was a critical and commercial success in Europe, particularly in France (gold disc and Jazz Academy Award) and Germany (Echo Jazz Award), as well as in Korea (Korean Music Award).
Sometimes introspective, sometimes feverish, sometimes quite sparse, Youn Sun Nah's new album Waking World is a complex, long-exposure self-portrait - with a lot of light and a lot of shadow. "This album is both an incredible pleasure and a tremendous challenge," concludes Youn Sun Nah, who continues to push herself creatively and sonically more than 25 years into her esteemed career. Waking World is the closest she has ever come to her true self on record.