Korean music, in particular K-pop, has become a global phenomenon. Led by performers such as Psy and the group BTS, K-pop and its sounds, dance, and style have become integrated into America’s everyday popular cultural landscape. Korea, however, has a richer history of musical performance, that ranges from court music and folk songs to importation of western classical music and jazz. In fact, the deterritorialization of jazz and its active incorporation in Korea can be traced back to the 1920s. Contemporary Korean, and especially Korean diasporic, musicians are engaged in fascinating projects that reterritorialize jazz and deterritorialize Korean traditional music by combining jazz with, for instance, Korean folk songs.
Jordan VanHemert, jazz saxophonist and composer, will present one instance of such projects in a lecture and performance “Autumn Songs: A Korean Jazz Performance with Jordan VanHemert and Band” on Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. in 117 Kalapuya Ilihi Hall. The talk will include discussion of his identity as a Korean adoptee and his path toward becoming a saxophonist, composer, and educator whose work is rooted in “jazz tradition guided by a resolute political consciousness.”
The lecture/workshop/performance is based on VanHemert’s second album, Nomad where he explores concepts of home and what it means to explore Korean American (and adoptee) identity through jazz. In his words, “In this project, I reharmonized several Korean folk and children’s songs to present them to new audiences and preserve our musical culture.”
VanHemert is the Director of Jazz Studies and Assistant Professor of Saxophone at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. He will be traveling with band members guitartist Jocelyn Gould, Korean vocalist Sharon Cho, and Korean pianist Lisa Sung.
This event is cosponsored by East Asian Languages and Literatures, the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, and the OHC’s Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities. For more information contact Jina Kim, jinak@uoregon.edu