Connie Han - Iron Starlet

With the release of her 2018 Mack Avenue debut, 'Crime Zone', pianist/keyboardist Connie Han seized the attention of the jazz world and firmly established herself as a fast-rising star on the scene. That stratospheric ascent continues on her captivating follow-up, 'Iron Starlet'.

As the title makes vividly clear, Han's career may be in the early stages of what promises to be a vertiginous climb, but the 23-year old is no wide-eyed aspirant, timidly searching for her place in the crowded jazz landscape. One listen to 'Iron Starlet' is ample evidence that she's every bit an armour-clad talent as the name implies. Her powerful vision takes in the full evolution of her forebearers, from iconic innovators like McCoy Tyner and Hank Jones through the Young Lion revolution spearheaded by the Marsalis Brothers, Kenny Kirkland and Jeff Tain Watts, among others.

The intention of this music is to continue a legacy of tough, primal, raw but still intellectually engaging straight-ahead jazz, Han declares. I am an aspiring star in this music, but I am not a na�ve, uncertain girl that people wrongly associate with that term.

She's already a crazy-good player, arranger and improviser. She's got all the technical mastery she'll ever need and has absorbed the post-bop piano masters, both considerable achievements for anyone, let alone someone so young. - DownBeat Magazine