Pureum Jin is a South-Korean born, NYC-based, award-winning saxophonist, arranger, and composer. Pureum began playing saxophone as a teen in Korea, and developed her chops as a jazz musician in Seoul, before being accepted to a master’s degree program at Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

After graduating in 2017, Pureum moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, for a year, where she performed as a member of the great John D’earth’s Sextet. Moving back to NYC in 2018, Pureum has been establishing herself as a key figure in the NYC jazz scene, and has played at international jazz festivals including Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, Seoul Jazz Festival, DC Jazz Fest, and the GREC Music Festival in Spain. Her first album ‘The Real Blue’ - titled after the English translation of her name from Korean - was released in 2019 to rave reviews, further cementing Pureum’s place as a leading figure in jazz today.

Pureum and I connected online in January 2021 to discuss her discovery of saxophone and jazz music as a teen in Korea; her experience studying at Manhattan School of Music, particularly as a young immigrant to the US; the inspiration for her album ‘The Real Blue’; and what it’s been like continuing her career in music as a young mother - including touring in Spain when her baby was just 6 months old!

https://www.pureumjin.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyzr8sGJSMPSt0HhX8Lzw9g

https://www.instagram.com/pureumjinofficial/

Buy ‘The Real Blue’: https://cellarlive.com/collections/latest/products/pureum-jin-the-real-blue

And some links to jazz-influenced pianist and K-Pop artist Lee Jin Ah’s work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZjA8vfddPQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhNpjpEK4ic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgWTs9IaY-k 

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