Review: Connie Han Acts Her Age At The Birdland Theater

It has been said that Connie Han is 'edgy' and perhaps that is true. This writer suspects it is less a case of Connie Han being edgy and more a matter of Connie Han being young. I don't say that in that patronizing way that some comment on the youth of the world, as if their chronological years and their experience in any chosen field were not commensurate - it is more than clear that Ms. Han has a wealth of experience and talent, and it was all on display Saturday night when she played the Birdland Theater. What I mean when I say that Connie Han is young is that she has the benefit of not having her artistry affected by the cynicism that comes with age. Her work as a pianist, as an arranger, as a composer, as a performer is filled with the excitement that comes with being a person who is still enthralled by all the adventures of life, and that informs all the aspects of her work, from the music she provides to the image she presents.

Looking every bit of a cross between a Vogue fashion plate and a case of dynamite, Ms. Han joins her bandmates on the stage in a skin-tight black romper with white trim and knee-high leather boots, her raven tresses slick and sleek, lashes batting at the audience in a not-at-all flirtatious manner, and a slash of red lipstick parting so that a knowing smile can encourage all to indulge in a sip of their cocktail while she gets the party started. The lady is refreshingly outrageous of fashion and wonderfully candid of conversation (though one could wish she didn't mumble into the microphone quite so quietly, for her patter would, surely, be very interesting to hear).

During her seventy-minute program, most of what Ms. Han presented were her own compositions from her last two albums (Crime Zone, and Iron Starlet), and though it is very pleasing to hear the virtuosa play a little Sondheim ("Even though I'm straight, I love beautiful women") the true purpose of seeing a Connie Han show is to go on the hour-long life journey provided by the amalgam that is her composing and her playing. While it is a feast for the eyes to watch Han play, the act of listening to the music itself is like being inside of a ballet based on your own life. In seven seemingly endless numbers, Ms. Han and her colleagues manage to create musical representations of the day you had, the week ahead, the emotions you have felt, and the ones you have repressed. Through her compositions "Gruvy" and "Iron Starlet" this pianist whose fingers glide across the keys as a skater does the ice creates an emotional experience that cannot be described, only felt. Thrilling and compelling, the melodies played aren't pretty, they're honest; they aren't meant to be understood, they're meant to be felt. It would be interesting to see what Connie Han could accomplish in the field of motion picture score composition, so vivid are the images she conjures with her music, at times visual, at times visceral. The wealth of emotional opportunities available to a person merely focused on the act of listening to the music is endless. Factually, this writer found an unusual listening experience never before felt in the Trio's performance of Han's "For The O.G." - something so fascinating that I may spend the rest of my life looking for a band able to help me to recapture it.

Trying to escape the light of all the iPhones held in the air to film the show, making every attempt to shut out the voices of patrons throughout the club who paid to see The Connie Han Trio and then spent the hour talking as though they were in their living rooms, or worse, on the subway, I set down my camera, my pad, my pen, and closed my eyes, listening intently, paying attention, taking the journey that Connie and co. had planned for all of us, allowing myself to be swept up in the emotions created by the composition and the presentation. Breathing in the air and the music, the rise and fall of the heart rate, the colors crashing against the inside of the brain, the emotions coursing through the veins, there was every sensation, physical, mental, emotional, that I was on the best boutique party drug, in the middle of the dance floor of the legendary Roxy disco. The music transported me into the past, with no assistance or prior intention from myself. For those seven-ish minutes, Connie Han gave this guy a kind of musical Tardis that transported me back twenty years, to a time when I was as credulous, as insatiable, as young as Connie Han, herself.

No, this is not what edgy looks like. This is youth. What Connie Han has to offer is her own point of view, her own artistic voice, her own inimitable take-no-prisoners attitude about her life, her style, her art. This is the hunger that every artist has when they are young, with everything in front of them, on a quest to create something new stemming from that place inside of them that is completely their own.

That's what Connie Han is: new. Connie Han is brand new, original, fabulous, and ready to claim that place that is most uniquely hers.

The Connie Han Trio includes Ryan Berg on bass and Bill Wysaske on drums. Via email, Connie Han offers that: "It should be noted that Bill produced both Mack Avenue releases and co-wrote/arranged much of our repertoire."

The Connie Han Trio has concluded their shows at Birdland. Find other great shows at the Birdland website HERE

Visit the Connie Han website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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