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. The band consists of instrumentation, melodies and harmonies from both countries. On the Mediterranean side, there is Vasilis Kostas on the Greek lute-like laotu, Gerge Lernis on drums and Middle Eastern percussion. The Korean ambassadors include Mino Cho on piano, Do Yeon Kim on the stringed gayageum, Nayeon Lee blowing into various wind instruments, Nara Lee singing in the Pansori style, and Max Ridely bridging the two hemispheres with his bass.
The music itself is a gorgeous sauce of sounds, with an earthy Asian trudge with Lee’s narration on “Funeral Song” her lilting delivery around the droplets of string and bowed bass on “Mandarin, My Love”. Guest Insoo Kim gives a percussive solo on the janggu on the traditional rhythms of “Prelude to Dalmaji”, leading into a hip bluesy mix of jazzy piano, bass, drums and earthy Greek strings. Passionate lyrics and percussions create a mix of kimchi and tsadtziki sauces on the glorious “Milyang Arirang” and the strings give a rich framework on the folksy “The Greeting of the Violets”. An Olympian Seoul success.