Jeon showcases her percussive jazz style on Introducing Hey Rim Jeon, her first set for N-Coded. The album reflects the broad range of Jeon's influences and her own contemporary improvisational style, with six original tracks and four reimaginings songs from the likes of jazz great Chick Corea ("Spain"), classical composer Claude Debussy ("Claire de Lune"), an instrumental version of the Sigmund Romberg standard “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise," as well as a traditional folk song from her native Korea, “Arirang." Recorded in New York, Japan and Boston and produced by Jeon, the album also features performances from Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, Dave Liebman on saxophones, James Genus on bass, and Richie Barshay on percussion.
About her previous, independent, release, Mona Lisa Puzzle, Bill Milkowski wrote in JazzTimes, “It's clear that pianist-composer Hey Rim Jeon is interested in making an intense, intelligent statement." Regarding her first release, Hey Rim Jeon and Friends, Bob Young of the Boston Herald said the album “reveals a player with a sure touch and a penchant for stepping beyond early mainstream influences." And Benny Golson, the renowned jazz saxophonist and composer, has said of Jeon “a brilliant pianist... she has a good concept of what the music is all about, and the ability to perform it."
Jeon, an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music, began performing classical piano publicly at the age of 9. As a teen, the prodigal musician was then exposed to Oscar Peterson, leading her to focus on jazz. She came to the United States to study at the Berklee College of Music in 1997, and went on to earn her Master's degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. As a performer, she has shared bills with jazz luminaries such as Dennis Chambers, Chris Minh Doky, and Hiram Bullock and performed at such distinguished venues as Lincoln Center in New York City and Jazz Informance in Chesapeake, VA. She has also appeared on NBC's Weekend Today in New York and KBN, Korea's national TV network. Jeon has released three critically acclaimed albums, including Mona Lisa Puzzle, which won Best Jazz Album at the 2009 New England Urban Music Awards and reached CDBaby's Top 10 Modern Creative Jazz Albums list that year.
