Jazz singer Lee Bu-young ＂Jazz is my life. Jazz is me.＂

Jazz singer Lee Bu-young "Jazz is my life. Jazz is me.": K-POP / 연합뉴스 / 2021-12-23 10:37:06

▲ This photo, provided by Roman Works, shows the jazz vocalist Lee Bu-young. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- “I was one of the people who assumed Jazz was a difficult music genre. Then, I decided to let go of those thoughts and found myself humming and enjoying it.”

Jazz is often about feeling the music but many find the genre challenging. This is because it is hard to define what music is considered jazz, and there is no answer to what makes a good jazz song.

Jazz vocalist Lee Bu-young (51) constantly questioned herself about jazz. After singing jazz for 20 years, she finally had an answer, which was “naturalness.”

“Artists are people who express themselves through artistic tools, and jazz is my method. Jazz is my life. Jazz is me,” said Lee in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Dec. 23.

Lee is known as one of the main female vocalists to jazz fans.

The singer started her music career by coincidence after winning a grand prize in a 1993 Korean Music Festival. Lee never imagined a career in jazz even when she was studying abroad in the Netherlands.

Lee sings sadly with a husky and mid to low tone and this is why the title “Impressionistic vocalist” follows her.

"Love, Like A Song," Lee's new album in 3 years, focuses on love.

“All human beings, including myself, go through, experience, and learn love. We all fall in love thinking it is the only thing that matters and sometimes we realize it too late.”

All the tracks in the album naturally lead to another.

The first song “Is it my lover 2.6” (translated title) expresses the romance when falling in love. “One Summer day” and “Lalala song” (both translated) show passionate love, and the “Two for the road” portray the lover who shares the journey of life.

Lee, a professor of Applied Music at Seoul Theological University, is famous for determining the strengths of students.

“The most effective education is complimenting students to let their strengths fully shine,” highlighted Lee.

Lee said that she wanted to continue singing jazz, naturally.

"I want to follow my instinct rather than be defined in a certain way. How about being remembered as a musician who expresses jazz, as it flows naturally?"