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Jordan VanHemert

Saxophonist, composer and educator Jordan VanHemert has four critically acclaimed releases to his credit, and a fifth on the way in early 2024 (featuring Terell Stafford, producer Michael Dease, Helen Sung, Rodney Whitaker and Lewis Nash). Born in Korea and raised in Michigan, VanHemert makes music rooted in the jazz tradition and guided by a resolute political consciousness, illuminating issues of race and social justice. With a penchant for modern, swinging melodicism, he pays homage to his Korean roots while drawing on the blues-infused hard bop tradition handed down to him by his mentors.

VanHemert has played with the likes of John Daversa, Dmitri Matheny, Rodney Whitaker, John Webber, Geri Allen, Chris Vadala, Vince DiMartino and Dave Eggar. He has performed at ShapeShifter Lab, The Painted Bride, The Blue Llama, Edgefest, Elkhart Jazz Festival, the Korean Cultural Foundation of Philadelphia and many more. Holding a DMA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MM from the University of Michigan, he has conducted masterclasses and clinics at Ohio State University, University of Wyoming, Central Michigan University and a host of other institutions. He is currently planning a Korean album release tour in June 2024.


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3
Liner Notes

Jordan VanHemert: Deep in the Soil

Read "Jordan VanHemert: Deep in the Soil" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Born in Korea and raised in Michigan, Jordan VanHemert counts himself among those youngsters that got involved in his school music program by starting out on the alto saxophone. Also like many of his fellow saxophonists, VanHemert eventually moved away from the smaller horn to devote his full energies to the tenor sax, an instrument emblematic of the jazz heritage. “In my formative years, I was almost exclusively an alto saxophonist," VanHemert explained from his current home base in Oklahoma. ...

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Album Review

Jordan VanHemert: Nomad

Read "Nomad" reviewed by Jane Kozhevnikova


After his previous album, I Am Not A Virus (Big Round Records, 2021), inspired by the ongoing fight against racial prejudice, Jordan VanHemert releases Nomad, continuing to explore and embrace his Asian American identity. As the liner note says, this album is a celebration of Korean culture “through the melodies of both ancient & contemporary folk & children's songs, distilled through a modern jazz aesthetic." The opening tracks sound like a traditional saxophone trio similar to Sonny Rollins' ...

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Album Review

Jordan VanHemert: Nomad

Read "Nomad" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Although his name offers no clue, saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's heritage is Korean. He salutes that legacy on Nomad, his second album as leader, with a pair of Korean folk songs and half a dozen comparatively modern themes written by Koreans or Korean Americans. Most are performed by VanHemert's trio: (Rodney Whitaker, bass; David Alvarez III, drums). Pianist Lisa Sung, guitarist Nathan Borton, bassist John Webber, drummer Max Colley III and vocalist Sharon Cho join VanHemert on the children's song “Half ...

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Album Review

Jordan VanHemert: I Am Not A Virus

Read "I Am Not A Virus" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


It was bad enough that 2020 brought with it the scourge of a pandemic of proportions not seen in a hundred years. But add to that the ugliness of racial tensions and xenophobia and one would be hard pressed to grapple with the idea of much good coming from such adversity. Michigan educator and saxophonist Jordan VanHemert found himself at the mercy of endless lockdowns and the need for new ways to communicate with others much like everyone in the ...

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Album Review

Jordan VanHemert: I Am Not A Virus

Read "I Am Not A Virus" reviewed by Robin B James


The craft is tight, the feeling is refreshing, the sound is quick and precise, and the gestalt brings the individual voices of the musicians into group form, taking turns soloing and working together, interpreting the now into the fabric of the groove. The album covers a full range of expressive energy. “The Path Ahead" (9:28) starts us off with pep and energy, a perfect tempo for forward motion, the next tracks move into crisp contemporary seasons and issues, including that ...

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I Am Not a Virus is filled with VanHemert pushing himself as a writer, performer, and leader. The inspiration behind each song is a bit of a story of VanHemert’s musical retort to racism and the unjust hostility toward Asian-Americans amid a global pandemic. The music flows like a healthy cathartic act from VanHemert and comes across as creative, grounded, and strikingly passionate. -Stamish Malcuss, Jazz Sensibilities The craft is tight, the feeling is refreshing, the sound is quick and precise, and the gestalt brings the individual voices of the musicians into group form, taking turns soloing and working together, interpreting the now into the fabric of the groove

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Deep in the Soil

Origin Records
2024

buy

Nomad

Origin Records
2022

buy

I Am Not A Virus

Big Round Records
2021

buy

Stages of Han (Single)

Self-Released
2021

buy

Call to Order

From: Deep in the Soil
By Jordan VanHemert

Bird, Bird, Bluebird

From: Nomad
By Jordan VanHemert

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