Korean American jazz musician Grace Kelly, who will bring her sensational saxophone music to Hong Kong for the first time, talks about female representation in the industry and how she relates to the Princess of Monaco
Don’t confuse Korean American jazz musician Grace Kelly with the Hollywood film star Grace Kelly. However, while the 32-year-old saxophonist and singer (born Grace Chung) isn’t related to the Princess of Monaco, she is a celebrated figure in the jazz industry in her own right.
It all started in 2007, when Kelly, then just 14, played an original composition as a soloist with the Boston Pops, an American orchestra specialising in light classical and jazz music. Two years later, she was discovered by nine-time Grammy-winning jazz musician Wynton Marsalis at a jamming session in Roth’s Steakhouse in New York City. He invited her to perform alongside jazz icon Dave Brubeck at Barack Obama’s inauguration at the Kennedy Centre.
Since then, the Berklee College graduate has gone on to create 15 albums and collaborate with major stars such as Gloria Estefan, Questlove and Huey Lewis. Kelly is a three-time Jazz Artist of the Year at the Boston Music Awards and has been named Alto Saxophonist of the Year by American jazz and blues magazine DownBeat’s critics poll for nine consecutive years.
Kelly is also an industry pioneer for creating a new genre called the electro jazz-pop, which she describes as “bringing all of those worlds of jazz, electronic music like those by Zedd & Skrillex, great DJs like Sophie Tucker together in my style”.
She is in Hong Kong for the first time for a one-night-only concert happening today (September 25, 2024) at Xiqu Centre, where she will perform her originals from All That I Need (2022) and Kelly with Strings: At the Movies (2024).
Tatler catches up with her on all things jazz ahead of her concert.
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Grace Kelly (Photo: courtesy of the artist)
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What inspired you to pursue music as a career in the first place?
My mother is a big fan of the live arts, especially Broadway. As a young girl, my parents would take me and my sister to New York City to see some of the greatest Broadway shows, like The Lion King and Les Miserables. My mum’s side of the family has some amazing musicians. My grandma was a classically trained pianist. My aunt is a classically trained violinist. So I’m not an oddball. When I was six or seven years old, I fell in love with playing the piano and singing and writing songs. Later, I found and grew obsessed with the saxophone. When I turned 12, I found myself already performing professionally and recording my first album, and it just snowballed from there. It’s been a real blessing.
How did the name Grace Kelly come about?
My stepfather, Bob Kelly, adopted me at a young age. He is a fan of classic cinema. I was six or seven years old when I first saw Princess Grace Kelly onscreen, in the musical High Society (1956). I was so in love with her. I went to kindergarten the next day and told my teachers I was Princess Grace Kelly. I think it was her pure elegance and the way that she could hold herself and deliver her lines. I feel synchronicity with that elegant part of her. And I think there’s a real timeless, elegant quality to jazz music. I would like to bring her aura and spirit to this latest movie album project of mine, which celebrates my love of movie music with a gorgeous string ensemble.
