Description
‘Oracles,’ is about the power of human connection, the impact one person can have on another, or in this case, how eight remarkable individuals made a profound difference in the life of pianist and composer Helen Sung. While earning a Bachelor’s degree in classical piano performance, she developed an interest in jazz that led to her winning the piano chair in the newly-formed Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance (renamed the Herbie Hancock Institute in 2019). It proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, enabling her to study and work with Jazz Masters such as Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, Jackie McLean, Barry Harris, Slide Hampton, Jon Faddis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and more. Unlike her studies of classical music from centuries past, Helen was now learning directly from the composers and inventors of jazz music. Moreover, these mentor-teachers encouraged her to write her own music, opening up a world where her voice and musical choices were valued and even needed: in both composition and performance, she was confronted with the freedom to develop her musical identity, to stand behind and own her artistic choices, and dare to share it with the world — all revolutionary ideas to this Chinese-American daughter of immigrants. President John F. Kennedy said, “We must find the time to stop and thank those people who make a difference in our lives.” It is in this spirit that Helen composed: “A Little Bird Watchin’” for impish Jimmy Heath, “Positively CT” for the indomitable Clark Terry, “Wayne’s World” for the mystic Wayne Shorter, “Virtuosity” for Maestro Ron Carter, and “Pianism,” which celebrates a diverse group of piano legends: Sir Roland Hanna, Barry Harris, Kenny Barron, and Herbie Hancock. And so the wisdom and knowledge these Masters imparted to Helen live on in her, and in those who hear and engage with this richly-layered, modern work imbued with the timelessness of the Jazz Masters – the ‘Oracles’ – who inspired it.
