Juris Kuns, an internationally acclaimed Korean genre-blending music group demonstrated to New Yorkers that they are an arising band to lookout for through their groundbreaking performance titled Passage. The Korean Cultural Service of NY in partnership with the Flushing Town Hall presented Juris Kuns along with the appreciated support from the Soorim Cultural Foundation in Korea.
Article by Kevin Young
Juris Kuns, led by a haegeum player, Juri Kim, is one of the most recognized Korean fusion music bands based in Seoul. Juri Kim leads the ensemble producing a wide range of diverse sounds created from the Korean string instruments gayageum and haegeum along with staple western instruments: percussions, acoustic guitar, and bass guitar. This innovative ensemble adroitly fuses Korean and Western music to engage both traditional past and the present modern through their unrivaled music while making it look effortless to organize.
It was chemistry fusing the two very distinct musical styles into one; a combination of modernized western sounds intertwined with traditional Korean instruments created a one-of-a-kind sound that was appealing to hear. This fusion music was dynamic from the rhythmic changes throughout the songs. It was memorable from high pitched drums emulating rattle snakes to suspenseful tribal music from ancient times to even Christmas sleigh bells. Passage depicts a journey through time as the musician take you on an emotional thrill ride from sadness to happiness while they practice being in-sync with one another.
These musicians are all expert virtuosos in their crafts flawlessly producing their notes. The audience enjoyed these performances enough to convince the performers to put on an encore stage. The music even has a deeper meaning emphasizing the Korean culture from the past to the present. Overall Juris Kuns promoted the Korean culture by performing and hopefully Passage will propel their careers into a-list international stardom.
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