About JB Jangeun Bae

Hailed for her mellifluous keyboard touch and introspective construction of tunes, JB is one of the most formidable Jazz pianists to emerge in recent memory. Her remarkable virtuosity in performances is coupled with her exuberant yet masterful understanding of blues and improvisation. Also a gifted arranger, she is making a name for herself as a truly multi-faceted artist excelling in almost all categories - composition, improvisation, arrangement and experimentation.

A native of South Korea, Jangeun Bae obtained both a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Masters degree from the esteemed music pr...ogram at the University of North Texas. She served as a teaching fellow and exhibited great potential and qualities as an educator of Jazz. Engaging in several projects, her most notable was directing the keyboard ensemble "The Zebras". She was subsequently invited to perform at several highly revered jazz series such as the International Association of Jazz Educators, the 2004 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Concert Series, and the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music.

JB rose to international prominence with notable performances at several International Jazz festivals. She has played in appearances as the leader at the Toronto International Jazz Festival (Canada), the Jarasum International Jazz festival - one of the largest Jazz festivals in Asia (Korea), the Hong Kong International Jazz Festival (Hong Kong), Beishan International Jazz Festival (China), the Seoul International Jazz festival (Korea), and Taichung International Jazz festival (Taiwan). She has garnered critical acclaim during her tours of Japan and Europe. JB mainly performs and collaborates in musical projects and activities in both Seoul and New York.

Over the years, she has performed alongside many great performers of Jazz. A long list that includes Oh Jung Hae (Korean traditional Pansori singer), Hyun Jin Young (Korean Hip Hop artist), Greg Osby, Donny McCaslin, David Binny, Clarence Penn, Matt Penman, Mark Ferber, Ari Hoenig, Ross Pederson, Daniel Foose, Ingrid Jensen, Idit Shner, Craig Butterfield, Rodrigo Villanueva, Adam Teixeira, Justin Gray, Sarah Tolar, Jon Deitemyer, Ryan McGillicuddy, and many others.

In 2005, JB released her first album as a leader entitled "The End and Everything After (2006, Kang & Music)." The album earned great critical acclaim in the jazz scene. The most notable from "All About Jazz", the world's largest Jazz music website. This album also won the Korean Music Awards in 2007. She also won the best pianist in the reader's poll of Korean jazz magazine "Jazz People", both 2009 and 2012.

In 2006, Critical praise of her first album led to an appearance on EBS Space, the premier Jazz TV program in Korea, where she was commissioned to a project called "Mozart meets Jazz". The success of the project prompted Universal Music to release a recording of the project entitled "Mozart & Jazz, (2007, Universal)". The success of the project subsequently led to more commissions to include a 10-piece big band expansion project of the "Mozart & Jazz" project and a concert series called "Jazz meets Classics". Both projects were also met with great raves by both fans and critics alike.

JB has had many successful international collaborations.  She released the collaboration album with Greg Osby, "Go" (Sony Music, Korea), in 2008. JB was signed to Inner Circle Music, the creative young jazz musicians label by Greg Osby and in 2010 she released the album "Go Plus" (Inner Circle Music) in North America. She has released her 4th album as a bandleader, "JB4-Last Minute" (2012, Sony Music, Korea) and the collaboration album, "Is This All the Love You Have?" (2012, Sony Music, Korea). JB's second release on Inner Circle Music label, titled "JB" (2014) featured Clarence Penn and Matt Penman.

Apart from performing gigs and arranging music on projects, she spends considerable time as a scholar and theorist of music. She is an enthusiastic and spirited professor of jazz. She also has traveled as a clinician and guest artist around the world. JB has been invited to the Northern University of Illinois, University of South Carolina, University of Oregon, and the University of Wisconsin. She is currently teaching music to young budding students of jazz in Korea. She teaches at the Seoul Institute of Arts and Seo-Kyung University as visiting professor in Korea.