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Park Jiha - Communion (Tak:til, 2018)

I'd never heard of Park Jiha before or the groups she'd played in. Communion is her first solo record - in addition to composing these 7 tracks she plays piri (double reed bamboo flute), saenghwang (mouth organ) and yanggeum (hammered dulcimer). Kim Oki joins her on saxophone & bass clarinet, John Bell on vibraphone and Kang Tekhyun on percussion. This album strikes a fascinating balance between being accessible (I'd almost say catchy) and completely alien - you've almost certainly never heard anything like it. I returned to it time and time again and found it endlessly listenable, sounding not at all like anything remotely "jazz improv" despite the format being there. I can't describe it, just listen.

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