Hey Rim Jeon
For media inquiries, please contact Media Relations
Described as a “brilliant pianist” by legendary saxophonist Benny Golson, Hey Rim Jeon has been featured on NBC’s Weekend Today in New York, and KBN, Korea’s National TV network channel. As leader of her own band, Hey Rim Jeon and Friends, she has performed both nationally and internationally. Her album Mona Lisa Puzzle has been described as an “intense, intelligent statement” by Bill Milkowski of Jazz Times Magazine, won the Best Jazz Album category in the 2009 New England Urban Music Awards, and reached CD Baby’s "Top 10 Modern Creative Jazz Albums" list. A recipient of Berklee’s prestigious Exemplary Mentorship Award in 2021, Jeon is the first Korean faculty member at the institution. She has been teaching in the Piano Department since 2010.
- As leader of Hey Rim Jeon and Friends, performances with Benny Golson, Terri Lyne Carrington, Dave Liebman, James Genus, and Richie Barshay, among many others
- Four albums as a leader: Introducing Hey Rim Jeon (N-Coded Music/Sony Music Entertainment, distributed by RED), Mona Lisa Puzzle (jazzjeon records), Alone (Akasaka Kougei), and Hey Rim Jeon & Friends (Take Note Music)
- International appearances include the first and sixth International Jarasum Jazz Festival (Korea), Nardis Jazz Club (Turkey), and Satin Doll (Japan), among others
- Appearances in the U.S. include Birdland Jazz Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Iridium, the Spectrum (New York), and many more
- Coauthor of Berklee Jazz Piano Standards for Solo Piano (Hal Leonard/Berklee Press)
- Appearances on WGBH FM 89.7's The World by Marco Werman, KBN TV special documentary Running Today Too in the Name of Korea, and WNBC's Weekend Today in New York, among others
- CDs and performances reviewed in JazzTimes, Jazziz on Disc, the Boston Globe, and the Boston Herald
- Listed in Marquis Who's Who 2021 as a pianist, composer, and educator
- Recipient of the Berklee Exemplary Faculty Mentorship Award in 2021
- Recipient of the City Music Legacy Award, Berklee Urban Service Awards in 2015
- Winner of Best Jazz Album, New England Urban Music Award
- Recipient of the Piano Chair Award, Berklee College of Music
- Recipient of the New England Conservatory Merit Award
- Recipient of the Berklee Achievement Scholarship
- M.M., New England Conservatory, with academic honors
- B.M., Berklee College of Music, summa cum laude