EJ Hwang is a Korean contemporary jazz pianist, composer, and educator, who pursues original expression with every note she plays. With analytical awareness and harmonic interest, she progresses her unique music style and compositions through incorporating global sounds.

A native of Seoul, South Korea, Hwang began classical music training when she was four due to her father’s passion in music. Since arriving in the US in 2009, she went to Berklee College of Music to seek jazz education and has been involved in numerous projects, recording with performers such as Danilo Perez, Dee Dee Bridge Water, Sheila Jordan, Terri Lyne Carrington, George Garzone, just to name a few.

She has performed on numerous occasions with her group, and as a sideman in various venues and jazz festivals, such as Newport Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival, Dizzy’s Club, Blue Note, Andy’s, Lilypad, Danilo’s jazz club, Jazz showcase, etc., in Boston, Chicago, New York, Panama and Korea.

 In 2015, EJ’s debut album as a leader, “The Ensemble”, was recorded in Korea. After three years of musical and educational activities in Korea, she earned a full scholarship for a master’s degree at Berklee and left Seoul behind to go back to Boston for further academic achievements. Her great mentors, including Danilo Perez, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ben Street, John Petitucci, and Adam Cruz, were a huge inspiration not only to her music, but also philosophy of social conceptions. One of her compositions, “Wynton’s Dilemma”, is featured within New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers published by Berklee Press in conjunction with the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.

“Narsha”, Hwang’s 2nd full album as a solo artist, consists of nine tracks she composed based on her own multi-cultural experiences. The collaborative, revitalizing sound that Hwang has continually pursued throughout her career has resulted in this multi-cultural jazz album – where the creative talents of musicians in jazz and traditional Korean ‘Samulnori’ meet.

These days, she works not only to explore historical and cultural forms to understand global music forms in greater depth, but also collaborates with Korean pop artists, and composes for TV variety shows. Furthermore, she strives to educate people who have a passion for seeking their own voices in creating new aesthetic directions in jazz, and guide them in having an impact on the world stage.  

Photographer : Hyemi Kim