I just got back from a club called, "All that Jazz" and after all the difficulties that came with getting here and the last couple of days of inactivity, it was very gratifying to go out and hear some terrific young players and to get to play a bit myself. There seems to be a lot of energy in the youthful Korean Jazz scene. The band I heard featured a very good pianist named Mijun Im that I got to spend a little time with in New York. She is an up and coming player in Seoul and it was nice to hear her in action with a fine band that included Japanese/Canadian/Korean Kenji Omae on tenor, another rising star of Seoul Jazz (although he'd be busy in any other city for that matter). This was the first time I've heard Kenji--he attended Queens Jazz program a couple of years before I began teaching regularly there.He is an excellent player and I was struck by the influence of two of my favorite tenor players on his playing, Toronto's Mike Murley with whom I used to play when he lived in Brooklyn, and Joel Frahm with whom I have had (and will continue to have, I hope) a long playing relationship. I am looking forward to playing with Kenji over the next two weeks with another great young player (and former student) Chul Hoon Lee on bass. It was an especially nice hang for me because I've had so many fine Korean students over the last 6 or 7 years, and they've introduced me and my music to their friends and students over here so it felt very warm and friendly with a lot of interested young players coming over to say hello. After the gig was over, I went with some former students to eat pajan and hang out some more. I am looking forward to meeting more players here and to playing over the next two weeks, soaking up the good vibes.

Kambei!