The Mina Cho Quartet performed a set at the 2026 Medford Jazz Festival, showcasing 'gugak jazz' which fuses Korean traditional rhythms and melodies with modern jazz improvisation. The performance featured original compositions and interpretations of Korean folk music.
[Terry Carter]: The Mina Cho Quartet brings the bold, joyful sound of gugak jazz, where Korea's century-old rhythms, felt melodies, and ritual traditions meet the improvisational fire of modern jazz. So prepare for something very, very different. led by pianist and composer Dr. Mina Cho. And I actually like to call her double doctor because she actually has two doctorates. One from Brenda? New England Conservatory, and one from Brandeis. And she's a Boston-based jazz pianist, composer, and really, really a scholar in all areas of musicology and so forth. So you're in for not only an education, but also a treat. in terms of musical excellence. She's bringing a wonderful group to you. This is the Mina Cho Quartet, and it includes Dr. Cho. It also includes George Lernes on drums.
Okay, now here's where I could get messed up really, really bad. Young Chae Jung. Okay? On what I always refer to as the big sexy, the big bass over there with the hourglass figure. Yes, real nice. And then Matthew, I can do that. Book of the Bible, pastor can get that one right. Ryu. Okay, all right. And he is on guitar. All right, so this is going to be a treat. I've been looking forward to it for months. Ladies and gentlemen, the Minacho Quartet.
[4krK0kKt9D4_SPEAKER_00]: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for coming to this opportunity. We are so grateful. And thank you so much, Terry and Jonathan, for your warm invitation. The first tune we are playing is called G Street Dance. I came up with this title, this cool title, and it is based on Korean traditional rhythm called gukgeori jangdan. Geori means street. Put has many meanings. One of the meanings is shamanic ritual, but it can also be good performances or good rhythms. I guess we are doing all of these. It's a good performances, good rhythms. We are prepared to play for you. And it's a celebration for all of you, for the community. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. The second tune we are going to play is called Unmyeong. Unmyeong is Korean. It can be translated as destiny, fate. Why are you here today in this place? It seems like everything is coincidence, but I believe it's based on our so many decisions that we have made in our lives and precious meetings and the moments that we've had in our life. So thank you so much for being here. I think it's our fate to be present in this moment. So this is Unmyeong Destiny. Hope you enjoy. Thank you.
Thank you so much. That was George Lerness on many percussion instruments. We have cajón. We have darbuka. He has a frame drum. And he has tambourine-like instruments called raq. Raq, Arabic instruments, a lot of Arabic tambourine. Yes. We have Matthew Liu on the guitar. Again, we have Young Chae Jung on the bass. Are you enjoying Minacho Quartet music so far? Okay, thank you. The next tune we are playing is called Dalmaji. Guess what? We have a lot of Korean titles today. Dalmaji means greeting the moon. In Korea, there's, in many Asian countries, as a matter of fact, there's a tradition of celebrating the night of the full moon, wishing for a happy year or rich harvest in the old days. So this is my hope and our wish through this music. You have a rich, I guess, emotions and good feelings and positive energy today. So this is Dalmaji, Greeting the Moon, but I titled it Night of the Full Moon. Night of the Full Moon. Thank you.
I happen to know one of the famous Korean folk song called Arirang. Arirang, you never heard of it? Okay, Arirang is one of the famous Korean folk song, but the tricky thing is there are so many Arirangs according to each region, little regions in Korea. And this particular Arirang is from eastern, northern eastern part of Korea, and it's called Miryang Arirang. Traditionally, the song goes like, the refrain part goes like this. Do you wanna hear it? So that, yeah? You become familiar with the melody.
Ah-ri ah-ri-rang, su-ri su-ri-rang. Would you repeat after me, if you don't mind? Ah-ri ah-ri-rang, su-ri su-ri-rang. And it goes after. Ah-ra-ri-ga-na-ha-ne. Ah-ra-ri-ga-na-ha-ne. Okay, so this tune is based on this melody, beautiful melody, Miryang Arirang. Thank you so much, it's about the time we finish. You wanna hear one more tune before we go? Yes, would you like, yeah? Time okay? Go to me, go to me, yes. Thank you so much for being here again. Let me introduce amazing friends of mine one last time. Matthew Liu on the guitar.
George Lennes on percussion, hybrid drum set, Young Chae Jung on the bass, and I was Mina Cho on the piano. Thank you so much Terry, Reverend Terry Carter and Jonathan, and everyone, thank you so much for your warm invitation again.
[Terry Carter]: All right. One more time for the Minichow Quartet. So I'm probably going to spend the rest of the night puzzling over how George got all of that sound out of that box back there. So it's pretty amazing stuff. In any case, Minichow on piano and Korean traditional instrument. George Lennox on the drums, Young Taejong on bass, and Matthew Ryu on guitar. Really, really different, beautiful music, obviously. And really a change of pace from what we heard earlier in the day and what we heard yesterday. And tomorrow, you'll want to be on hand if you can be. We have the Nico Guerrero Trio. We have another group from, as we have every year, from the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, which is directed by Terry Lynn Carrington. And then, not to pat ourselves on the back, but myself, Jonathan Fagan back there.
Greg Toro and Gordon Engelgaard, the Ally Project, will be entertaining as the last set of the day. So we hope that you can come back and enjoy the show. It's been a blast. A couple of things I want to remind you of. My friends, Tracy and Deakin from the Danish Pastry House. They still have snacks available if you want some, you know, go inside and go inside and eat, yes, and enjoy. And we've had just a wonderful, wonderful sponsorship from Method Community Media, my goodness.
Jim's here representing them. We have audience, Avey Fagan is here. Audience Sound Company, the Berklee Institute of Jazz for Gender Justice, Winchester Music School, Morningside Music Studio, the Arts Alive Foundation, and the Medford Arts Council. It's been a real special time for us, especially in terms of bringing on new Patreon subscribers who have helped to advance our efforts throughout the year, and then the sponsors that have jumped on board kind of towards the end of this thing. Tomorrow, come on out. We'll be here. We'll be enjoying the day with you. The tents will still be up. The chairs will be here. The music will be good. And the food will still be available from Danish Pastry House. Starts at 2 o'clock, OK? First band, Nico Guerrero Trio, Berklee Institute of Gender and Jazz.
Jazz and Gender Justice at three o'clock, and then the Ally Project at four o'clock. And then you can go out for dinner after that, see? You'll have had your fill of music and go out and get something nice to eat. And you'll have made a day of it, right? And then if you want to start with church, I'm not mad at you, OK? Go get your worship on at the church, at the temple, wherever you serve. Go on and do that. In any case, thank you, Mina. We appreciate you. Appreciate you, fellas.
Appreciate our audience. OK, so I said it before. I'll say it one more time, right? We're free, but we ain't cheap. So if you want to make a donation, you can see my man Eli. He's got the red box back there. And he'll be happy to take your folding money. Jonathan, did I forget anything? Okay, all right. Show up tomorrow, okay? And bring cash to donate, okay? And eat, drink, and be merry, all right? For tomorrow we live happy, all right? Have a good evening, everybody. Thank you for joining us here at the Medford Jazz Festival.