Kang Tae Hwan (alto saxphone)
In Korean jazz circles, Kang has been called genius.
At the age of eighteen, he was leadlng his own group. But he had a bigger
ambition to create jazz music of his own.
In 1978 he formed a free jazz trio, the first and only one In Korean jazz
history, with which he tried experimental performances. But after their Japanese
tour in 1987 Kang disbanded the group. Korean avant-garde jazz musicians were
so scarce, it was impossible for him to find collaborators who could keep
up with him musically. Thus, Kang was forced into musical isolation, except
for occasional performances with Japanese improvisers "TON KLAMI" Trio.
Kang Tae Hwan's name has finally started to become familiar in the world's
improvisational music circles through his perfomances at the Moers New Jazz
Festival in l988 and 1991, his Russian and Baltic States tour in 1992, and
his records.
He plays the alto saxophone with a transcendent skill that is securely tied
to his profound musical philosophy.