Meet Eunha So

Eunha So started playing an all-white upright piano at age six. Serious stuff in Korean elementary schools, she was hammering out renditions of Mozart and Chopin. She moved to Denver in 2008, and went totally off the rails with the music nerds in the school jazz band. Now she plays all kinds of sounds going from a latin-reggae jam sesh out of Harlem to a soulful collaboration with Nashville based singer-songwriter Michelle Mandico. Her last solo release, Reminiscence, is made up of spacious songs about Colorado, Miyazaki movies, and staying up too late. We had a chat about all that and more.

Would you rather…

time travel to the past or to the future? And why.

To the past. So I can be more prepared this time!

Some questions with Eunha So

What are you most influenced or inspired by?

Live music. Being in the moment. I learn the most from that.

I have to be inspired to write. It can be anything. That movie, Howl’s Moving Castle? I wrote a song about it for my album. The way it moves the legs, it’s kind of rickety, kind of odd. There’s something off. That song is written in 5/4s.

What do you have to say about the stars in the night sky?

My name means galaxy! My mom saw the galaxy around the time she had me. She had a dream about it. So, that’s how she named me!

On my album, the first track is called “Swings' Starlight.” In Westcliffe, this small town in Colorado, I was working as a counselor for the jazz camp there. At night, there’s no light pollution, you can see the Milky Way. And then at the camp, being with all the kids, it made me think like when I was a kid. When you’re on a swing set at night, it makes it look like the stars are falling.

The title of your album being Reminiscence, is that the theme? Nostalgia?

Exactly. It’s a very personal album. The song titles are capturing my memories. And there’s one, “Red Rocks at Night,” it’s a little bit of a different vibe. Red Rocks is a great place to see live music. And I played there! This reggae band I was in opened for String Cheese Incident.

Now, you’re a New York based artist. Where are some jazz venues you like playing?

It was exciting for me to play at Birdland. A classic, very intimate setting. I like playing at Groove in the West Village. Harlem Nights, sometimes I do the jam there.

What jazz music can you recommend for The Family in self-isolation?

The music I have been to this quarantine is You Must Believe in Spring by Bill Evans. The title track, "You Must Believe in Spring" is absolutely beautiful, and the whole album puts you in a mood. It comforts me.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

I released an EP, Something New, with my friend in April! It’s three tracks, it’s a duo. It’s different from what I usually play. But I put my taste in it.