Hey Rim Jeon at piano

Image by Eric Antoniou

Alum

Hey Rim Jeon

Professor
Affiliated Departments
Berklee Online
Piano
hjeon@berklee.edu
Telephone
617-747-3037
Personal Websites
Hey Rim Jeon's Website

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Hey Rim Jeon is a multi-award-winning pianist, composer, and educator. Described as a “brilliant pianist” by the legendary saxophonist Benny Golson, the Seoul-born, Boston- and NYC-based jazz practitioner has performed extensively across the globe for more than two decades.

After learning from such masters as Joanne Brackeen, Jeon went on to perform with leading lights like multi-Grammy-winning drummer and producer Terri Lyne Carrington and innovative saxophonist Dave Liebman. She has performed at top jazz clubs, like Birdland in New York City and Scullers in Boston, as well as Jarasum International Jazz Festival in Korea.

Jeon has been honored across the critical sphere. JazzTimes called her 2009 album Mona Lisa Puzzle an “intense, intelligent statement.” New York Amsterdam News declared she is “as sophisticated a pianist as you will ever find.” Mona Lisa Puzzle also won the Best Jazz Album category in that year’s New England Urban Music Awards and appeared on CDBaby’s “Top 10 Modern Creative Jazz Albums” list.

Her latest album, Groovitude, was released in 2022. For her outstanding efforts, Jeon was featured on a Times Square billboard in 2023.

Jeon is the first Korean faculty member at Berklee College of Music. She has taught in the Piano Department since 2010. In 2021, she received Berklee’s prestigious Exemplary Mentorship Award. In 2023, she received early promotion to professor.

Whether on stage or in the classroom, Jeon’s passion, dedication, and raw talent shine through her work in all regards.

Career Highlights
  • 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
Awards
  • 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
In Their Own Words

"No one can learn anything unless they really experience it. When I teach even very simple chords, I could just write them down and theoretically explain what they are, but I want students to physically play and sing, to make them feel it, not just look at what somebody else is doing."

"In harmony classes, there are many different instruments and majors, so I always remind them, 'What do you think that this class will do for you?' Drummers sometimes may say, 'Why should I know the chord changes, the key changes? I will never play them.' And I show examples of some drummers who produce amazing CDs. I personally know Terri Lyne Carrington. This is how she produced, as a drummer. I think their perspective changes."

"I came here in 1997 from Korea, so I understand international students' immigration issues. A lot of times students feel kind of uncomfortable talking to their peers about it because they feel like, 'He seems fine. Why do I feel this way?' I tell them it's not wrong to feel how they feel and tell them how I overcame it. If I cannot help, maybe somebody else can. You have to find your mentors."

"Students who already have been here two, three years, have different problems. I have to talk to them about why they have to keep going because it's the time that they almost want to give up. They're looking at all these amazing players from all over the place and think, 'I'm never going to make it.' It's like learning a language. Sometimes you feel like you're doing a lot better and some days it doesn't sound good at all. It's a lifelong commitment. This is not a few years and then you just become an amazing musician and then what? After you graduate from Berklee, that's not the end of your profession; that's the beginning of your profession. It's a journey, not a destination. So you have to just know how to enjoy it and how to overcome those feelings."