Yeahwon Shin is one of the most individual and expressive vocalists on the international jazz scene. Her deep affinity for Brazilian music, and ability to forge strong partnerships with many of today's leading jazz players, has led her to make boundary-crossing music that inspires everyone who hears it. The great Egberto Gismonti, one of Yeahwon's key mentors, has declared: "Some joys happened in my life without programming. One of those joys was to be introduced to Yeahwon Shin."

Andrý Midani, the legendary Brazilian music producer, counts himself a Yeahwon fan: "She has a very interesting style and personality which enables her to interpret Brazilian standards with soft and original tones... her voice is delicious and
perfectly in tune."

In 2010, Yeahwon released her ArtistShare debut. Simply titled Yeahwon, the album features Gismonti along with fellow Brazilians Cyro Baptista and Valtinho Anastacio; producer/guitarist and longtime collaborator Sun Chung; Brazil-based Americans Scott Kettner and Rob Curto; and a host of esteemed jazzers including Kevin Hays and Alon Yavnai, Ben Street, Jeff Ballard and Mark Turner.

Grammy-winning jazz composer Maria Schneider has said of Yeahwon: "The album is simply lovely - from the song choices, to the graceful arrangements, production and absolutely luminous performances by everyone involved. It's wonderful and all too rare to feel all those elements come together in balance to create such simplicity and beauty."

Yeahwon's journey began in Uijungbu, a rural suburb of Seoul, South Korea, where her musical talents began to emerge at age five (she won a piano competition at age seven).After studying at Korea's Dong-Duk music university, she worked extensively as an in-demand session musician in Korea. She played in well-known venues such as LG Art Center, Club Evans and the Blue Note in Korea. She also started an annual summer jazz and bossa nova concert in Heyri in 2004, with renowned Brazilian percussionist Valtinho Anastacio (whose credits include McCoy Tyner, Lee Konitz, Wallace Roney, Tom Harrell, Gerry Mulligan, John Patitucci, Astrud Gilberto and more).

In 2005, Yeahwon came to New York to attend the New School University Jazz and Contemporary Music program, from which she graduated with honors in December 2006. Since then, Yeahwon has refined her artistry with a laser-like focus on Brazilian music, immersing herself in study of the Portuguese language, and furthering a legacy of musical cross-pollination that goes back many decades in jazz history.

Yeahwon has performed at the Incheon Jazz Festival, the EBS Space Gong-gam and the Korean Cultural Center with world-famous jazz musicians including George Garzone, Harvie S and John Riley.

"Brazilian music is so natural for me because it fits with my personality," says Yeahwon. "Although there's a sadness in the lyrics, the melodies are very beautiful. My personality is optimistic, I would say, and I'm doing Brazilian music professionally because it gave me this sense of hope. That said, I want to do Brazilian music my own way, and I think my experience as a Korean is very important."

Reminding us yet again of jazz's universality, its inexhaustible and globe-spanning appeal, Yeahwon weaves every strand of her unique story into a bold
and inviting sound.