Home » Jazz Musicians » Francesca Han

Francesca Han

Pianist Francesca Han’s music captures both the subtle affectivity of classical music and the uninhibited effusiveness of rock. Having studied both, she has now developed an approach to jazz that leaves a foot planted in tradition while reaching for unique expression. After achieving rapid success in her native Korea, she was encouraged to move to New York City in 2004. There she received her master’s degree in jazz performance from Queens College under the tutelage of pianists David Berkman and Bruch Barth, trumpeter and arranger Michael Mossman, and saxophonist Antonio Hart. She played with various jazz groups throughout New York. She has performed at Dizzy's Club Jazz at Lincoln Center, 92nd Street Y, Kitano, Sofia, Garage, fatcat, Smalls, Cleopatra's needle and numerous other clubs throughout the New York metropolitan region and international jazz festivals. Her performance with the quartet Jayu at Jamaica Center has won critical claim for its blend of jazz and traditional Korean music by New York Daily News. With her eponymous debut album (Francesca Han on M.M. Records), Francesca’s playing is characterized by an intimacy that transcends musical boundaries. In 2012 she released trio-quartet album "Illusion" and first solo piano album "Ascetic"(Audioguy)

Tags

3
Radio & Podcasts

Francesca Han, Ralph Alessi, Greg Spero, Camille Bertault & More

Read "Francesca Han, Ralph Alessi, Greg Spero, Camille Bertault & More" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


Experiments from jny: Chicago and elsewhere, technical mastery offset by sense of humor, jazz as sonic storytelling, and jazz standards' transfigurations are some of the main sources of inspiration for this episode.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Greg Spero “Ruslan" The Chicago Experiment: Revisited (Ropeadope) 0:16 Host Talks 8:47 Greg Spero “Rose Petal" The Chicago Experiment (Ropeadope) 9:56 Host Talks 13:49 John Zorn “Eventide" Perchance to Dream (Tzadik) ...

34
Touchstone Album Picks

Francesca Han: Exuding Honesty

Read "Francesca Han: Exuding Honesty" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Pianist and composer Francesca Han's duo album with Ralph Alessi, Exude (Hanji, 2022), is a timely reminder of the Korean's talent as an interpreter, an improvisor and as a creative force. It is a beautiful, conversational album, open to multiple influences. Classically trained, Han discovered jazz while studying in her native Seoul. It was a life-changing turning point that would lead her to New York, where she immersed herself in jazz studies both formal and informal. A number ...

15
Album Review

Francesca Han & Ralph Alessi: Exude

Read "Exude" reviewed by Ian Patterson


The first duo recording from pianist Francesca Han and trumpeter Ralph Alessi has been a while coming, the pair first having met in New York in 2011. Shortly thereafter, Han left the Big Apple—closing the book on an eight-year sojourn--though not before recording the highly impressive Illusion (NatSat Music, 2012), which featured Alessi, Drew Gress, Corcoran Holt and Justin Brown. A decade on, Han and Alessi reunite on Exude. This joint effort is aptly named as neither holds back, though ...

6
Multiple Reviews

Francesca Han: Dream Episodes, Blue Suns, Icarus

Read "Francesca Han: Dream Episodes, Blue Suns, Icarus" reviewed by Ian Patterson


A new Francesca Han recording is something to get excited about. The pianist's spirited trio/quartet outing Illusion (Audioguy Records, 2012) and the bewitching solo effort Ascetic (Audioguy Records, 2012)—one of the finest solo piano jazz albums of recent years—were outstanding examples of her skills as a composer, bandleader and improviser. Now, in a relatively short space of time, three more releases of quite distinct individual character have seen the light of day, confirming, as if there was ever any doubt, ...

7
Album Review

Francesca Han: Ascetic

Read "Ascetic" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Coming just a few months after the striking Illusion (Audioguy, 2012)--a vibrant trio recording featuring guest trumpeter Ralph Alessi--pianist Francesca Han's first recorded foray into the world of solo piano reveals a musician in a rich vein of form indeed. Stemming from the Illusion sessions, eight of the ten tracks are the fruit of an impromptu two-hour improvisation, and it's perhaps not surprising that there's a pronounced flow and unrelenting energy about these performances. There's great variation in mood throughout, ...

8
Interview

Francesca Han: Right Music, Right Time

Read "Francesca Han: Right Music, Right Time" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Korea has never been more fashionable, leading the way in technological advances and dictating hair styles, television viewing, eye shape and pop music trends across Asia and beyond. The mindboggling response to singer PSY's song “Gangnam Style," with over a billion hits on You Tube, epitomizes the phenomena of the so-called “Korean Wave." Fewer people, inevitably, are aware of the depth of Korean jazz talent, amply demonstrated on the essential compilation Into the Light--Korean Music III--Traditional Music and Korean Jazz ...

8
Album Review

Francesca Han: Illusion

Read "Illusion" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Pianist Francesca Han's music contains a certain duality. She's a classical and improvising jazz pianist with one foot in the jazz tradition and the other wedged firmly in the door of contemporary jazz. An established jazz musician in South Korea, Han acquired new vocabulary studying and playing in New York, where she also collaborated with composer Jeff Fairbank's experiment in fusing Korean traditional music with jazz. Though jazz clearly dominates Han's playing, a ghostly classical vein is felt, as is ...

Read more articles
"After only two recordings, Han already sounds like the finished article. Illusion is the work of a mature, intuitive and daring musician, and one undoubtedly deserving of greater recognition." —Ian Patterson, All About Jazz

"Francesca explores the rich jazz tradition in her search for ways to stretch the language. Her debut CD, Francesca Han, is a broad sweep of expression that ties the work of the masters to her own artistry." —Jacob Teichroew, Jazz Guide for About.com

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Exude

Hanji
2022

buy

Blue Suns

Self Produced
2015

buy

Illusion

NatSat Music
2013

buy

Ascetic

Audioguy
2013

buy

Videos

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.