Tak Kyung-joo - You Are Too Beautiful

Vintage Swing, further matured with the flow of time

The essence of a relaxed jazz ballad

Jazz guitarist Tak Kyung-joo's 5th Album <You Are Too Beautiful>

Within the realm of jazz music, there are more subgenres than one might imagine. Among them, swing and bebop, often referred to as the most traditional areas of jazz, represent the biggest and most distinct differentiators that established jazz as a new musical art form in the 20th century. They remain the fundamental core, accounting for at least 60% of jazz's unique identity to this day. When one approaches this area with an open mind and understanding, embracing the genre of jazz becomes much easier. This is easier said than done, as its approach is quite different from pop/K-pop, which we have long been accustomed to, making it difficult to readily accept.

The main rhythmic accents differ, the melodic progression and harmonic foundation are more diverse and complex, and the weight of instrumental performance generally far outweighs vocals in jazz. Thus, a certain degree of awareness and training regarding various instrument sounds is required for easy access. Oh dear! Just explaining this makes it feel like I'm burdening listeners with homework...! I apologize, but despite that, you must put in that much effort to get closer to jazz. However, if you have the interest and passion to approach it to that extent, then from that point onward, you will encounter a realm of wonder entirely different from listening to other genres of music. This much I can confidently promise.

So! What exactly is the "flavor" of swing, which could be called the most fundamental rhythm and essence in jazz? What do the unique bebop melodies and harmonies, pulsating within the flow and pulse of that swing, convey? As a natural answer to this question, citing guitarist Tak Kyung-joo's music is a reasonably valid choice. I can almost see ardent jazz fans with a certain breadth of knowledge exclaiming, "What sophistry is this?" Of course, it would be natural to first mention the names of many legendary giants recorded in jazz history. Still, I speak from the perspective that for the younger generation of music fans today, it would be easier to approach the music of a contemporary young musician who is close at hand and whose live performances can be seen if the opportunity arises, rather than urging them to delve into the archives of players from their grandparents' generation or even older. So please, bear with me and avoid any misunderstandings. 

Tak Kyung-joo's guitar beautifully captures the unique aesthetic of swing and bebop that emerged when jazz truly began to flourish after the 1930s and 40s. As I previously mentioned when introducing his music, the "hand-feel" and musicality embedded in his guitar playing are directly inherited from early jazz guitar masters like Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis. More importantly, among Korean musicians, he can articulate this distinct flavor with great skill and naturalness. In my view, the greatest strength and charm of his guitar playing lie in his excellent rubato/legato sensibility, which allows him to flexibly weave together the melody and harmony of existing songs as if speaking, actively adjusting the phrasing and length. Guitarists with this inclination are extremely rare in Korea. While many can be named who play more smoothly and technically brilliantly, a player who so deeply understands the aesthetic of timing hidden between notes, like Tak Kyung-joo, is truly uncommon. And I am confident that when a jazz musician can truly internalize this, and when a listener can truly hear and feel it, they will grasp the unique musical appeal of jazz. In this respect, Tak Kyung-joo's guitar serves as an excellent reference. In other words, his true strength and talent lie not in flashy shredding or nimble technique, but in his flexible and faithful sense of swing and the tasteful phrasing he creates based on it. 

  

He has released a new album after five years, and it's a trio formation. To date, Tak Kyung-joo has released four studio albums, two of which were trio formations. While both were trios, they differed in instrumentation. This work, however, is performed in the typical guitar trio setup of guitar-bass-drums, following his second leader album, <Jazz Guitar Classics>. The most distinct core of this new work is his return to the realm of traditional swing and bebop, which are his strengths and musical foundation, after attempting some musical changes in his previous work, <Out of Control>. Personally, I was very pleased with this. While attempting new changes, as in his previous work, is a necessary process for a musician, returning to his innate domain, which is most suited to him and holds great intrinsic inspiration, inevitably brings a sense of comfort and welcome, like returning home. The intention to capture the most optimal attempt to truly embody the "flavor of swing," which I mentioned as Tak Kyung-joo's greatest strength at the beginning of this text, in this new work, is a choice that inspires a certain level of prior trust in its musical integrity, given his clear intent to showcase his strengths. So, the key question is one: To what extent have his performance and music accumulated internal depth and maturity over the past several years? 

  

Track Introduction 

The moment I heard a passage, specifically a few bars of the solo part, from the first track, "You Won’t Forget Me," I immediately realized that he had been continuously honing his guitar skills and contemplating his music for the past five years! Even just from the sound of Tak Kyung-joo's guitar emanating from the intro, one can feel a distinct difference from his previous performances; his guitar tone itself has become rounder, warmer, and wider. Whether playing single notes or chord-centric, his guitar sounded richer, a difference even more pronounced when compared to his older works. If you listen to "Beautiful Love," recorded as a guitar and bass duo, you'll notice a much greater sense of space and a more three-dimensional feel to the sound compared to the brighter and clearer guitar of his younger days, confirming that he hasn't stayed stagnant in the past. (This cannot be attributed to differences in acoustic environment, including the studio, as the previous album's studio space was arguably better or at least on par; rather, it stems from the performer's own approach to tone production and is unrelated to changes caused by the recording space's natural reverberation or mix-down.) The fact that Tak Kyung-joo can consistently weave together organic and substantial solo lines and comping, fitting this at least two-step upgraded guitar tone, alone reveals how much effort he has put in. With his unique "hand-feel" and flexible legato/rubato phrasing, he tastefully renders standard numbers, making it nothing short of delightful to listen to, isn't it? 

In this work, Tak Kyung-joo consistently performs all tracks at medium and slow tempos, and this is precisely the album's most significant characteristic and unique charm. While performing at fast tempos may, given a certain level of technical proficiency, actually reduce the distinctiveness among players, many musicians both domestically and internationally often say that faithfully and skillfully executing ballads or relaxed swing performances at slow tempos is surprisingly difficult. The key lies in how meaningfully one can extract melodies and rhythms within that framework, and Tak Kyung-joo has long had an understanding of this aspect. (If you listen to his first album, <Theme from Brooklyn>, released when he first arrived in Korea, you'll understand my perspective.) From that viewpoint, this work has a stronger musical connection to his first album, and with deeper mastery and "hand-feel" in his playing and minimal wasted notes compared to then, it's bound to be even more appealing!

And what about the opening solo of the album title track, "You Are Too Beautiful," or the sound and melody of the sole guitar solo piece included at the end of the album, "Polkadots & Moonbeams"? His interpretation, based on the beautiful original melody at a relaxed tempo, warms the heart. In "On a Clear Day," a mid-tempo swing number alongside "You Won’t Forget Me," one finds no mechanical scale playing whatsoever, but rather organic solos and comping that breathe new life into these classic standard numbers. So, what is the reason for this increased maturity of sound and density of performance compared to the past? When asked directly, the artist himself stated that he received continuous inspiration from the playing of master-level senior musicians he had long admired and listened to consistently, such as Ed Bickert, Grant Green, Vic Juris, and Jimmy Raney. He felt that their musical peak, more than anything else, lay in their relaxed swing at medium and slow tempos. Ultimately, this album embodies the result of his consistent effort to hone his skills and explore his direction to perfectly express this relaxed swing! Furthermore, the support from drummer Lim Ju-chan and bassist Shin Dong-ha, who teamed up with him, also appropriately underpins the music at just the right point—neither too much nor too little. It's quite remarkable that these two individuals, known as outstanding technicians among domestic players, deliver a restrained swing in accordance with Tak Kyung-joo's intentions and direction. 

Finally, the appearance of two invited vocalists, Kim Ju-hwan and Lim Chae-hee, singing together, is also one of the charming highlights of this work. Kim Ju-hwan, possessing solid skill and stable vocal execution, continues the restrained vocalization and internalized emotional delivery he showcased in his recent leader work, <After Midnight>, engaging in a conversation with Tak Kyung-joo's guitar. The way they unfold the music as a guitar and vocal duo is particularly impressive. Lim Chae-hee, who sings "Tis Autumn," is one of the female vocalists actively moving in the domestic jazz scene recently. Her voice itself possesses a simple yet unpretentious charm. In this song, she highlights these qualities beautifully, and with a slight laid-back feel and emotional expression, she effectively accentuates the beauty of the original piece. 

  

Epilogue 

From long ago, his playing never strongly conveyed a self-consciousness of wanting to show something new. Instead, there was always a desire to present improvisations full of beautiful melodies, and a primary intention to deliver notes charmingly to the listener as if telling a story, always leaving me personally delighted whenever I listened. In this regard, in the contemporary jazz scene where novelty and modernity are sometimes perceived as the most important virtues, Tak Kyung-joo, as a rare musician who reawakens the rich flavor of the classics, clearly has a significant purpose. Moreover, I believe a musician of this caliber is even more valuable in the Korean jazz scene, where such inclinations are exceedingly rare. He is a guitarist who understands and can articulate the traditional aesthetics of jazz better than anyone, faithfully unraveling stories within swing and bebop, specifically at leisurely and relaxed medium and slow tempos! I wholeheartedly recommend this album, full of elegance and grace, to jazz fans who genuinely find his playing beautiful. 

Written by Kim Hee-joon, Editor-in-Chief of MMJAZZ