Jin Soo Kim is a South Korean, Seoul-based jazz guitarist, singer-songwriter, composer, producer, and educator who releases his music via his own label, OLF Records. His studies at the local Chugye University focused on modern poetry, which influenced his musical thinking, particularly his sensitivity to form. He later studied at Berklee College of Music, where he worked with Mick Goodrick and George Garzone.

Aspiration is Jin Soo Kim’s third full-length album, released twelve years after his singer-songwriter album, Parangyebo (2014). The album’s twelve pieces – ten Jin Soo Kim’s original pieces, plus Bill Evans’ «Turn out the stars» and George Shearing’s «Conception» – serve as a musical diary documenting live performances and studio recordings captured between 2017 and 2025, some already released by him on his Bandcamp page as singles or EP’s, with different collaborators.

Jin Soo Kim is well-versed in jazz history, with a confident melodic sound, carefully structured improvisation, and deeply emphatic interplay with his colleagues. You can hear echoes of Kenny Burrell, Goodrick, and John Scofield in the thoughtful, refined abstraction of the post-bop melodic themes, often adding a more physical touch to the swinging-rhythmic approach. Jin Soo Kim experiments with free improvisation in «Plop», but really shines in his ballads «Paris», «Changing, Unchanging», «Hero», and «A Life Unfolding», all of which evoke rich, emotional stories.

Eyal Hareuveni

Jin Soo Kim (guitar, piano), Jae Kon Jeon (double bass), Chang Min Jun (double bass), Seung Ho Jang (double bass), Hogyu Hwang (double bass), Jun Young Song (drums), Jong Hyun Kim (drums), Dong Jin Shin (drums), Da Yeon Seok (drums), Eun Hye Oh (piano), Bo Kyung Seo (tenor saxophone)