Jazz Violinist Seoyeon Im Spreads Music Across City and Abroad

When Seoyeon Im moved to the U.S. to study jazz violin at Berklee College of Music, she planned on moving back to Korea, where she was born, after she graduated.

Im had grown up studying classical violin in Korea, where jazz is much less prevalent. She saw an opportunity to soak up as much knowledge as she could on the genre and bring it back.

“After coming here, I met so many people, and then I felt like I needed to learn more,” Im said. “I needed to get more experience. And now, 10 years later, I’m still here.”

Im, 36, is one of the city’s acclaimed jazz violinists. After studying at Berklee for two years, she moved to New York City and pursued a Master’s in Jazz Studies from Queens College (CUNY).

Im loved how there were opportunities to play and collaborate with other jazz musicians nearly every night of the week in the city—far more than in Korea.

Plus, with her viral social media accounts, Im could fulfill her hopes of spreading jazz and reach Korean fans across the world.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the city’s jazz industry took a hit. “I felt like I couldn’t start my career yet, and I was very down,” Im said.

Seeking connection, she began to join other musicians’ jams and explore gypsy jazz, a subset of swing jazz. As she became more immersed in the city’s jazz communities, more opportunities arose. Her career was back on track.

Now, Im leads her own group, the Soyeon Im Quartet, which plays at the West Village’s iconic Zinc Bar and The Red Pavilion, an Asian neo-noir nightclub in Bushwick.

Im also plays in the Glad Rags Orchestra, a dance band orchestra based in the city, which will be performing at the Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza at 7:30 p.m. on July 8.

The free event, which is part of the center’s Summer for the City program, will include dance lessons and a live performance from the band, which is preparing to bring 1920s and 1930s flair and fashion to the public.

It will be a busy July for Im, who is also releasing her first single, “Up In The Air,” on the night of July 3. The single is coming ahead of the release of her album, “New World,” in mid-August.

Straus News sat down with Im to discuss how she found her passion for violin and what readers should expect from the Glad Rags Orchestra event.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did you get into violin and decide to pursue it as a career?

My mom just put me in a violin class and kept saying to practice, and I realized, “Oh, I like the violin.” I was very inspired by this, and said: “Okay, I want to go to music school.”

After I went to the music school, we flew to Hawaii and did a big orchestra concert. That was a very magical moment. I almost cried while playing. It was very emotional and powerful. And after that, I felt like, “Oh, this is fun. I want to be on the stage.”

Q: How did you get into jazz?

I studied classical music in Korea until I was 24. But during that time, I kind of wanted to do something different. Classical music is something you have to play exactly how the music is written. I wanted to do something different. I needed just a little freedom, freedom to play the wrong note, something fun.

I was busking a lot in Korea. During that time, I met so many people, and one guy said, “What if you study properly and come back to Korea?” So, I decided to come to America to go to Berklee College of Music.

Q: Where are some of your favorite venues to play at in the city?

Right now, The Red Pavilion. People are really listening there, so we can really focus on the music—we can do more of a show.

Zinc Bar is also definitely a listening room. People are really just here for the show. Also, musically I can do anything there. I can play new music. If I want to play swing, it’s fine. Any music is welcome.

Q: How did you end up joining the Glad Rags Orchestra?

The band leader, Charlie, is also a gypsy jazz player, so naturally I know him. He asked me, “Hey, do you want to play?” And I said absolutely.

I’ve never played this kind of music. This is slightly different from gypsy jazz. It’s more of an orchestra, more like classical music. Jazz is more loose and has more improvisation. We have an improvisation section, but it’s a lot of music notation.

Q: If you were trying to convince someone who didn’t know about the Glad Rags Orchestra event to come, what would you say?

If you wanna time travel, if you wanna have something nice to do during the daytime and you wanna smile, just come.