Joep Van Rhijn brings jazz to Daegu
Joep Van Rhijn
By Jon Dunbar
Joep Van Rhijn has been a productive member of Daegu’s music scene for four years since moving here from the Netherlands. He finally steps forward with his own jazz trio album, “Paper Planes,” released on Audioguy and distributed by Universal.
“My wife always helps me give titles to my music,” the trumpet player told The Korea Times. “My little son inspired us with song titles like: Little Giant, Paper Planes and Baby Elephant. The piece Paper Planes peacefully and playfully floats around, which fits the title. And I think it also describes the overall mood of the album well.”
He first toured Korea in 2006, returning every year before settling down in Daegu, his wife’s hometown, in 2012.
“Korean jazz festivals, like the Jarasum Jazz Festival and the Seoul Jazz Festival, have a lot of young visitors and that’s very unique,” he said. “Korean audiences want to enjoy the performance, and that's why they show a lot of support. In Europe normally people are more judgmental, but for artists it feels nice to feel supported!”
The eight tracks on his new album are cool and breezy, never rushing to reach the finish line. Van Rhijn’s trumpet and flugelhorn provide the trio’s voice, backed by Chon Yong-jun’s gentle piano and Song In-seop’s soothing contrabass.
It’s a big digression from his previous project Artkiki, in which he combined his jazz trumpet with traditional Korean musicians and dancers. Through Artkiki he helped train local jazz musicians and introduced Korean musical traditions to European audiences.
“I learned a few things about Korean music, but I think I still basically think like a jazz musician,” he said. “After time, my DNA will be filled with more elements of Korean music. I am a slow processor, but the information is somewhere inside me and some of it will probably appear at some point.”
He also arranged songs on traditional singer Kim Yong-woo’s recently released album, while keeping busy working with a big band based in Daegu. Meanwhile, his wife is busy planning the Jazz in Daegu festival for 2017, inviting local and international jazz groups to the sizeable but isolated southeastern city.
“Actually Daegu is quite a comfortable city,” he said. “There is enough work for musicians, but it’s mostly work with little artistic value and not much challenge.”
This Friday at 7:30 p.m., Van Rhijn releases his album at Daegu’s Theatre Bundo. He has already released the album in Seoul.
Visit joepvanrhijn.com for more information and concert listings.