So We Speak

SSC1749 2025-02-07

Track List

Margie - 7:07
This or That - 7:07
So We Speak - 5:58
Fly - 0:47
Nabiya - 6:38
River Farm - 5:17
You Get What You Paid For - 5:16
After All - 0:59
Silver Lining - 6:16

Musicians

Eugenia Choe - piano, fender rhodes, compositions
Yuhan Su - vibraphone
Song Yi Jeon - vocals

As a child of immigrants and, now, a woman trying to make her way in the New York jazz scene, pianist Eugenia Choe faced pressure and stigmas that could have derailed her ambitions. Thankfully, Choe chose to accept the challenges that were posed to her and soar beyond them. On her new recording, So We Speak, Choe escapes her worries and doubts to find peace and beauty through music.

Choe’s family immigrated from South Korea to make a new home in the United States. They chose to settle in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, where Choe experienced a typically strict Asian American home life. Being the only fluent English speaker in her household, Choe was intimately involved in all of her family’s affairs.

Through it all, Choe was able to excel on the piano, studying classical piano at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and jazz at the New School for Jazz in New York City and SUNY Purchase. As a bandleader, Choe led piano trios in the New York area for nearly a decade.

Family issues and the pandemic forced Choe to step away from music for some time. When she returned, Choe met vibraphonist Yuhan Su and established a strong friendship and musical rapport. The two began meeting on Sundays and holding impromptu sessions to orchestrate a language between their piano and vibes.

The inspiring work with Su began to make Choe consider recording a duo album. Then an old friend, the Berlin-based vocalist Song Yi Jeon, informed Choe that she would soon to be coming to New York for some projects. This surprise opportunity sparked Choe to rearrange a number of her pieces for this unique setting of keyboards, vibes, and voice.

Once Song Yi did arrive, the trio conducted a handful of rehearsals before they went into the studio at Acoustic Recording in Brooklyn on September 21, 2023.

The pieces that Choe wrote reflect on what it means to be a human in this topsy turvy world and reflects on how Choe herself overcame her own vulnerability through perseverance to find her strength. To tell the story, Choe introduces Margie, an imaginary girl who personifies Choe and her struggles.