Elles Youn Sun Nah

• 1 Feeling Good 03:24
• 2 Cocoon 04:22
• 3 I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) 04:58
• 4 My Funny Valentine 03:28
• 5 White Rabbit 04:08
• 6 Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child 04:14
• 7 Baltimore Oriole 02:36
• 8 Coisas Da Terra 04:53
• 9 La Foule 04:00
• 10 Killing Me Softly with His Song 04:38
• Total Runtime 40:41

Info for Elles

The album Elles by Youn Sun Nah was released by Warner Music International. This captivating collection of songs showcases the extraordinary talent and versatility of Korean jazz vocalist Youn Sun Nah.

Elles features a diverse selection of tracks, each one carefully chosen to highlight different aspects of Youn Sun Nah's artistry. From hauntingly beautiful ballads to energetic and rhythmic compositions, this album offers a rich and varied musical experience.

One of the standout tracks on Elles is "My Favorite Things," a fresh interpretation of the classic song from The Sound of Music. Youn Sun Nah's unique vocal style brings new life to this beloved tune, infusing it with her own artistic sensibility.

Another notable track is "Enter Sandman," a surprising and innovative cover of the iconic Metallica song. Youn Sun Nah transforms this heavy metal anthem into a mesmerizing jazz-infused rendition, showcasing her ability to reimagine familiar songs in unexpected ways.

In addition to these covers, Elles also includes original compositions that demonstrate Youn Sun Nah's songwriting skills. Tracks like "Uncertain Weather" and "Momento Magico" showcase her ability to craft evocative lyrics and melodies that resonate deeply with listeners.

Overall, Elles is an exceptional album that showcases Youn Sun Nah's incredible talent as both a vocalist and a songwriter. With its diverse range of tracks and stunning performances, this album is sure to captivate jazz enthusiasts and music lovers alike.

Recorded earlier this year in New York City alongside acclaimed pianist Jon Cowherd (Brian Blade, Cassandra Wilson, Lizz Wright) and producer/musician Tomek Miernowski, Elles spans a wide array of songs either written or performed by notable female artists, from soulful spirituals (“Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child”) and psychedelic milestones (“White Rabbit”) to long-overdue takes on “My Funny Valentine” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song” (the latter performed alone with a treasured music box). Backed by Cowherd’s subtle yet inventive work on a variety of keyboards, Youn Sun Nah reimagines standards both old and new in typically captivating fashion, traversing gender and generation with precision, magic, and intimacy.

Youn Sun Nah is among contemporary jazz’s most admired vocalists, an international award-winning singer, songwriter, and performer, hailed by The Guardian for her “seamless” movement “between impressionistic high drama, abstract improv, or a folk artist’s candid simplicity.” The Seoul, South Korea-based artist began her musical journey with piano lessons as a child before singing gospel with the Korean Symphony Orchestra as a teen. A career in musical theatre beckoned but Youn Sun Nah instead chose to pursue her own muse by attending Paris’ Institut National de Musique de Beauvais, Nadia and Lili Boulanger Conservatory, and the CIM, a school of jazz and contemporary music. Youn Sun Nah quickly affirmed herself as an exceptional vocal star, winning prizes at jazz festivals and competitions before truly arriving in 2001 with her debut album Reflets.A series of increasingly acclaimed albums followed, including 2010’s breakthrough Same Girl and 2013’s Lento, earning her Gold certification in both France and Germany amidst a plethora of honors and accolades.

Along with her growing body of work as recording artist, Youn Sun Nah has performed countless live shows and tours in historic venues and at prestigious festivals across Europe, Asia, and North America, including performances at closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2017 International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert in Havana, Cuba, the latter of which saw her performing alongside such fellow icons as Herbie Hancock, Regina Carter, Kurt Elling, Antonio Sanchez, Chucho Valdés, and more.

Appointed Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2019, Youn Sun Nah made her Warner Music debut that same year with the highly lauded Immersion. Stuck in place by the pandemic, Youn Sun Nah wrote and recorded her first ever collection of all original songs, 2022’s evocative Waking World, marked as always by deep emotional insight and a haunting musical approach bridging pop gestures, folk intimacy, and surprising jazz instrumentations. Now, with the remarkable Elles, Youn Sun Nah continues to explore musical possibilities through her idiosyncratic creativity and deep sense of craft, reaching across boundaries and borders to once again touch something universal and true.

Youn Sun Nah, voice, kalimba, music box
Jon Cowherd, piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer
Tomek Miernowski, Prophet 12 keyboard

Youn Sun Nah
(born on August 28, 1969 in Seoul/Korea) grew up in a musical family: her father was a conductor, her mother a classical singer. She made her musical debut as a singer at age 23 with a concert with the Korean Symphony Orchestra, and went on to perform in numerous Korean musicals on a national stage, for which she has received numerous awards.

However, she did not find that musical environment fulfilling. She decided to go to Paris in 1995 to study jazz and French chanson at the CIM school (one of the oldest jazz schools in Europe), at the National Music Institute of Beauvais, and at the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Conservatory. Her innate talent for jazz revealed itself when she started playing in Parisian jazz clubs with her group, the Youn Sun Nah 5tet. She made her rounds on the Paris club scene, performances that would earn her invitations to work with many famous musicians. Youn Sun Nah made strong showing in a number of jazz competitions like La Défense, St. Maur, and Montmartre. She became the buzzword in theatres and festivals all over France, while also performing in Korea, essentially managing simultaneous careers in two countries.

Producing five albums in six years, she held numerous performances in France, Europe, and in Asia including Korea. Such vigorous activity would earn her an award as “Best Artist” in the Crossover category in Korea in 2004. The same year, the release of So I Am... was widely celebrated by French audiences as well as the press, who regarded her as one of the most remarkable singers of this generation. Active touring and musical performances finally came to fruition in the form of the Grand Prize at the highly reputable Jazz à Juan Concours in 2005, in addition to the prize of Best Young Artist Of The Year in Korea. Youn Sun Nah established her position as a premiere jazz artist in the Asian music scene and marketplace with the album Memory Lane, co-produced with Denmark’s top pianist Niels Lan Doky and Korean bassist Kim Jeong-Ryul in 2007. She also earned recognition from the American media and noted personalities from around the world with an invitation and performance at the Jazz at Lincoln Center, which would launch her to world stardom.

She is an artist who never fails to move audiences wherever she may be performing, in Europe, USA, Australia, and Asia. In 2009 ACT has signed her as an exclusive artist. Together with world-famous Swedish artists like Ulf Wakenius and Lars Danielsson she recorded her newest album and ACT-debut, VOYAGE (ACT 9019-2), which will be released by ACT in May 2009.

This album contains no booklet.