Oan Kim & the Dirty Jazz
Biography Oan Kim & the Dirty Jazz
Oan Kim
a Franco-Korean saxophonist, singer, composer, photographer, and filmmaker, is a multidisciplinary figure in the contemporary art scene. Born in Paris, the son of Korean painter Kim Tschang-Y eul, he began studying the violin as a child before developing a passion for the saxophone and jazz as a teenager. He honed his skills at EDIM with Daniel Beaussier and Julien Loureau, while pursuing studies in music composition at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he studied harmony, orchestration, counterpoint, and fugue, and was introduced to Indian music. His eclectic musical journey spans jazz, contemporary music, indie rock, classical, and film music, reflecting an insatiable curiosity and a constant quest for new sonic and visual territories.
From this alchemy of influences emerges Oan Kim & the Dirty Jazz, a sensual and urban jazz where harmonic finesse meets the body’s pulse. Their sonic explorations give rise to spellbinding melodies, infused with the tension of rock and the visual poetry of cinema. Discovered by the jazz scene’s leading producer Jean-Philippe Allard, the albums Oan Kim & The Dirty Jazz (2022) and Rebirth of Innocence (2024) are released on his brand-new jazz label Artwork Records/PIAS and are unanimously praised by critics. A third album, expected in spring 2026, will mark a new phase, featuring a more collaborative and in-depth creative process alongside Benoît Perraudeau (guitar), Eli Frot (piano), Paul Herry-Pasmanian (bass), and Simon Lemonnier (drums), under the artistic direction of Matthis Pascaud. Her collaborations with singer Gabi Hartmann, trumpeter Nicolas Folmer, drummer Edward Perraud, the band Feu! Chatterton, and writer Laurent Gaudé demonstrate her openness to a wide range of genres.
