Saxophonist · Composer · Improviser
Based in Berlin, South Korean saxophonist, composer and improviser Jung-Jae Kim views free improvisation as a laboratory for communication. By pushing the saxophone beyond its conventional boundaries, he explores the intersection of sound, perception, and transdisciplinary art.
Kim’s career is marked by high-profile collaborations with leading improvisers such as Axel Dörner, Richard Scott, Matthias Bauer, Andreas Willers, Alexander Frangenheim, Kriton Beyer, Ernesto Rodrigues, Marcello S. Busato, and Stephen Flinn. His artistic breadth was recently spotlighted by the success of his album Shamanism (Relative Pitch Records), which critic Andrey Henkin named one of the "Top 10 Releases of 2025” in JazzTimes.
Beyond the stage, Kim is a decorated composer for film and interdisciplinary media. His experimental score for Eliza Petkova’s Silent Observers garnered major accolades from the Bulgarian Film Academy and the German Film Critics Association. Whether through his residency at Divadlo 29 or his award-winning work at the Seoul Arts Awards, Kim consistently seeks to bridge the gap between abstract sound and narrative depth.
As a community builder, Kim co-organizes Nexus, a Berlin-based series dedicated to fostering experimental and intermedia performances. His work continues to be supported by the CJ Cultural Foundation and the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, fueling his ongoing investigation into the expanding possibilities of sound.