Shervin Lainez

Linda May Han Oh

Associate Professor
Affiliated Departments
Bass
Faculty Bio E-Mail
loh2@berklee.edu
Telephone
617-747-8754
Personal Websites
Linda Oh's website

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Bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh has performed and recorded with artists such as Pat Metheny, Kenny Barron, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, and Terri Lyne Carrington, among others. She has won accolades from news outlets such as JazzTimes, which called her a "major bass voice"; WBGO Take Five; Nextbop.com; Something Else! Reviews; and the Wall Street Journal, which said  “her innovative range and stellar improvisations have made [her] one of the most dynamic rising stars in jazz today.”

Born in Malaysia and raised in Perth, Western Australia, she's currently based in New York City. The recipient of multiple awards such as the 2018 and 2019 Bassist of the Year award from the Jazz Journalists Association, she has had five critically acclaimed releases as a leader. Her most recent release, Aventurine, is a double quartet album featuring a string quartet and the vocal group Invenio. She has written for large and small ensembles as well as for film, participating in the BMI Film Conducting Workshop, Sundance Music and Sound Design Labs at Skywalker Sound, and Sabrina McCormick's short films "A Good Egg" and “FracKtured.” An active educator, she's helping to create a series of lessons for the BassGuru app for iPad and iPhone.

Career Highlights
  • Albums include Entry, Initial Here, Sun Pictures, Walk against Wind, and Aventurine, released under Biophilia Records, an independent record label that promotes environmental awareness and sustainability, and is actively involved in volunteering at events concerned with these issues
  • Performances include national and international work as a bandleader at the iconic Village Vanguard in New York City, as well as festivals such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, Jazz in Marciac, the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, and the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and venues such as Ronnie Scott’s in London and the Blue Note Milano
  • Performed as a memeber of the Sound Prints quintet led by Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas, playing at venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and Prague Castle, and recording two albums including the Blue Note release Sound Prints: Live at Monterey Jazz Festival; as a member of the Pat Metheny Quartet, touring nationally and internationally with an album set to release in 2020; and as a member of the Fabian Almazan Trio, with albums on Palmetto, BlueNote/ArtistShare, and Biophilia
  • Performed with Terri Lyne Carrington, Geri Allen, Steve Wilson, Kenny Barron, and Vijay Iyer, recording with Iyer on his latest ECM album trio with Tyshawn Sorey
  • Created lessons including a series as part of the BassGuru app for iPhone and iPad
  • Taught at the precollege program at Manhattan School of Music, the New School, and Berklee College of Music, as well as various residencies and workshops including the Banff Centre for Improvisation and Creative Music, the Siena Jazz International Summer Workshop, and Stanford Jazz Workshop
Awards
  • American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Young Jazz Composers Award, 2008
  • Second place at the BASS2010 Competition
  • Honorary mention at the 2009 Thelonious Monk Bass Competition
  • Bell Award for Young Australian Artist of the Year, 2010
  • DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star on bass, 2012
  • Recipient of the Jazz Gallery Commission, 2012
  • Jerome Foundation Fellow, 2016
  • BMW Competition Semi-Finalist, 2017
  • Jazz Journalists Association Bassist of the Year, 2018 and 2019
  • Jazz Journalists Association Up-and-Coming Artist of the Year, 2019
  • Recipient of the New Jazz Works grant from the Chamber Music America, 2019
Education
  • M.M., Manhattan School of Music, jazz performance
  • B.M. with Honors, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, jazz performance
In Their Own Words

"My wish is to help students cultivate the strong fundamental skills needed to be professional musicians and instill lifelong practices that will ensure that they lead rich and fulfilling lives in music and the arts that are true to themselves. I like to encourage ways of thinking that are creative and resourceful, which will enable students to thrive well beyond the educational institution and in effect eventually become their own teacher."

"The global music scene today is changing so quickly. I hope that my experience as a independent touring musician, composer, side-person, and bandleader will help inform students on valuable ways to navigate this ever-changing scene while still maintaining their artistic curiosity and their individual platforms for self-expression and creativity."

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