Pianist Helen Sung is as enthusiastic a spokesperson for jazz as anyone I’ve encountered in the past couple of years. The Houston, Texas, native defines the concept of “swing” with ease (“forward motion without rushing or being tense!”) and explains that casual listeners don’t need to overanalyze the music to enjoy it.
“Somehow it has become marginalized as an intellectual kind of esoteric thing,” she says in advance of two nights of bringing her quartet to Dazzle Sept. 5-6. “When people say ‘I don’t understand,’ I say, ‘don’t worry, it’s music to be felt.’ “
Her mastery and enjoyment of numerous jazz styles, from classic swing to avant-garde leanings, is apparent in her latest recording, “Anthem For A New Day” (Concord.) Sung exuberantly interprets Monk and Ellington standards alongside her own appealing compositions with a virtuoso’s touch, giving the appearance of someone who was born to do this kind of thing. But she actually had no knowledge of jazz music until she was a young adult.
A serious student of the classical piano, Sung was enticed into attending a Harry Connick Jr. concert when she was an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin.
“He played a little piano (instead of singing) in the middle of the concert. I was so struck by his performance. I didn’t know you were allowed to play piano like that! We (Sung and other classical students who were in attendance) signed up for ‘intro to jazz piano’ class.”
While absorbing every jazz recording she could get her hands on (“Fats Waller to Anthony Braxton”), Sung heard a trio album featuring the late Detroit piano powerhouse Tommy Flanagan. “He cemented my resolve,” she says. “I decided I had to try and play like that one day. The deeper I got into it, the deeper I was struck by the majesty of this music.”
Sung’s dedication took her to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, and recognition from piano competitions and her handful of recordings (and some teaching gigs) has led to a promising career that she found by happenstance.
“I consider myself a work in progress,” she says. “The temptation to be what you think others think you should be is a struggle. But to find out who I am — jazz is such an honest art form — it’s required me to be the best person that I can be.”
Helen Sung Quartet, Sept. 5 at 7 and 9 p.m., and Sept. 6 at 7 p.m., DazzleJazz, 930 Lincoln St. Tickets, $15-22.
More shows: A couple of other piano masters are lined up to play Dazzle in the coming days: Boulder’s Art Lande appears there on Sunday and Cyrus Chestnut brings his trio in for Wednesday and Thursday nights; the B-3 Jazz Project takes place at Herb’s on Tuesday; Freddy Rodriguez plays his weekly gig at El Chapultepec on Wednesday; Copper Mountain Resort’s “Genuine Jazz & Wine” features Dotsero, Euge Groove, Kim Waters and more Aug. 28-30; The Pete Olstad Quartet plays Nocturne on Aug. 31.
Bret Saunders can be heard from 6 to 11 a.m. weekday mornings at KBCO 97.3 FM and . bretsaunders@kbco.com.
