Linda May Han Oh: The Glass Hours

Based in New York City, Grammy award-winning bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh has performed and recorded with artists such as Pat Metheny, Kenny Barron, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Terri Lyne Carrington, Steve Wilson, Geri Allen and Vijay Iyer. The Wall Street Journal noted that Oh’s “innovative range and stellar improvisations have made her one of the most dynamic rising stars in jazz today,” while JazzTimes declared, "A major bass voice arrives!"  Born in Malaysia and raised in Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia, Oh has received many awards and honors, including a 2022 Deutscher Jazz Preis, the Jazz Journalist’s Association Bassist of the Year in 2018-2021 and 2023-2025, and Jazztimes 2022 Bassist of the Year. In 2023, she received the prestigious Herb Albert Award for music and received an Honorary Doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music in 2024. Ms. Oh has released five albums as a leader, which have received critical acclaim, and her latest, The Glass Hours, which she presents tonight, is a collection of works based on “abstract themes of the fragility of time and life, with the music described as “striking and rhythmically exhilarating.“ Oh has written for both large and small ensembles as well as for film, participating in the Sundance Labs at Skywalker Ranch and more recently scoring "Sorority Story" by film maker Kathryn Smith Pyle - a documentary about the history of racism in sororities. She also composed music for a collaborative film project, “Hoperaisers,” by Kizito Gamba based in Korogocho, Kenya and contributed music to his latest documentary “Calling the Shots,” about aspiring African women in the film industry. She was also featured in the 2020 Pixar movie "Soul" under the musical direction of Jon Batiste alongside drummer Roy Haynes, serving as the model for the character in the film - bassist “Miho.” Oh is currently working on a commission for the Melbourne Jazz Festival 2025 and is Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music as well as part of the Institute for Jazz and Gender Justice led by Terri Lyne Carrington. Joining May Han Oh for this concert will be Sara Serpa, voice; Greg Ward: alto sax; Fabian Almazán: piano/effects and Mark Whitfield Jr, drums.