“Who’s the most interesting drummer on the Dutch scene today?” If that were the question, Sun-Mi Hong would be the answer. Born and raised in a religious family in South Korea, it took persistance to be allowed to play drums as a young girl. Inspired by Brian Blade and Elvin Jones, she moved to The Netherlands in 2012 to study under Marcel Serierse and Lucas van Merwijk. She has been garnering critical acclaim since 2018 and was lauded a Young VIP in 2019. Her Sun-Mi Hong Quartet, featuring rising stars Nicolo Ricci (tenor), Alistair Payne (trumpet), Young-Woo Lee (piano) and Alessandro Fongaro (bass) first graced the Amersfoort World Jazz stage in the same year, awarding her opportunities to perform on holy grounds such as Ronnie Scott’s in London.
We keep a close eye on fresh talent here, so Hong was National Artist in Residence and is invited back this year to present her latest release, the first, but undoubtedly not the last, on the prestigious Edition Records.
Sun-Mi Hong, drums/buk
Nicoló Ricci, tenorsax
Alistair Payne, trompet
Chaerin Im, piano
Alessandro Fongaro, bas
