South Korean singer Yeahwon Shin’s ECM debut, “Lua ya” is a gentle album of songs and lullabies, recorded in 2012 in the spacious acoustics of Mechanics Hall, near Boston. It’s a very intuitive set, shaped by “improvising, listening to our childhood memories and letting the music flow”, as Yeahwon says. Shin and pianist Aaron Parks played together just once before the present recording, finding “an instant improvisational connection” which is further explored here. Accordionist Rob Curto shares with Yeahwon an affinity for Brazilian music and has collaborated with her previously (in contexts including her Latin Grammy-nominated album “Yeahwon” on ArtistShare). But this new disc is a project beyond the idiomatic borderlines: Korean children’s songs are amongst the inspirational sources, and jazz has influenced the phrasing and imagination of all three participants, yet “Lua ya” seems to emerge from a place of pure music and a common reservoir of feeling. Yeahwon Shin dedicates the set to mothers and children everywhere.

Tracklist:
1. Lullaby
(Rob Curto, Aaron Parks, Yeahwon Shin)
2. Moving Clouds
(Lee Soo Yin, Chung Keun)
3. Island Child
(Lee Hong Ryeol, Han Yin Hyun)
4. Mysteries
(Aaron Parks, Yeahwon Shin)
5. The Moonwatcher and the Child
(Yoon Seok Jung, Hong Nan Pa)
6. The Orchard Road
(Kim Gong Sun, Park Wha Mok)
7. Remembrance
(Park Tae Jun, Choi Soon Aeh)
8. Beads of Rain
(Kwon Oh Soon, Ahn Byung Won)
9. A Morning Song
(Aaron Parks, Yeahwon Shin)
10. Travel Blue
(Aaron Parks, Yeahwon Shin)
11. Beads of Rain, var.
(Ahn Byung Won, Kwon Oh Soon)
12. The Orchard Road, var.
(Kim Gong Sun, Park Wha Mok)
13. Sunrise
(Aaron Parks, Yeahwon Shin)