Kris Davis Trio + Soojin Suh Coloris Trio
About the event
Grammy-winning pianist Kris Davis brings her accliamed trio to St Stephen’s Uniting Church alongside Soojin Suh’s Coloris Trio to form a boundary-pushing double bill for The Sydney International Woman’s Jazz Festival 2026. Performing her acclaimed release Run the Gauntlet, Davis’s trio seamlessly fuses intricate composition with fearless improvisation—hallmarks of her singular voice in contemporary jazz. The album’s title reflects a journey of resilience and artistic determination, paying tribute to six trailblazing women pianists—Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Renee Rosnes, Angelica Sanchez, Marilyn Crispell, and Sylvie Courvoisier—whose innovation and perseverance helped reshape the jazz landscape and profoundly inform Davis’s own creative path. A Grammy Award-winning pianist and composer, Davis has been described by The New York Times as “a beacon for deciding where to hear jazz on a given night.” With over 25 recordings as a leader or co-leader and collaborations spanning artists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Dave Holland, John Zorn, Craig Taborn, Ingrid Laubrock, Tyshawn Sorey, and Esperanza Spalding, she stands at the forefront of modern improvised music. Her accolades include being named a Doris Duke Artist alongside Wayne Shorter and Danilo Perez, as well as multiple “Pianist of the Year” and “Composer of the Year” honours. Based in Seoul and active internationally for over a decade, Korean drummer, composer, and creative music artist Soojin Suh has built a formidable reputation as both a bandleader and collaborator, releasing seven acclaimed records across multiple projects and earning recognition for her distinctive, forward-thinking approach to contemporary jazz. Grounded in the concept of “melodic breath” drawn from Korean traditional music, the Coloris Trio crafts a fluid, deeply expressive sound where composition and improvisation are intricately intertwined, and each player moves beyond the conventional roles of the piano trio. Their award-winning album Colorist showcases Suh’s richly detailed writing, opening up striking textures and narrative-driven forms shaped by a distinctly Korean aesthetic. Balancing precision with spontaneity, this is music that unfolds with quiet intensity—immersive, dynamic, and rich with possibility.
