One of my new compositions “Tom Yum Kung” has just been premiered by the Yale Jazz Ensemble at the School of Music! I also play piano in the recording.
This new piece for 17-piece big band is named after the famous Thai soup called “Tom Yum Kung”. It is a hot, spicy and tangy soup consisting of king prawns, mushrooms, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and chiles. It is my favorite Thai dish and is the first thing I order when I return home!
Thai food is all about combining different flavors together into an explosion of taste. Each style in the piece is meant to represent a different ingredient or flavor. For example, the funky vibe at the start embodies the hot kick of spice, the swing is all about the juicy prawns while the latin jazz is meant to cool down the vibe just like lemongrass.
The next time you find yourself in a Thai restaurant, go ahead and order this favourite! It is the best soup on Earth!
This is a link to a coverage of the concert by the local news.
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