From the earth, to the sky

           (The forth album of Kim Duk Su)

-Understanding the Spirit of Kim Duk-Su’s Music through his Albums-

       1. Title of the work:

         From the earth, to the sky

        (The forth album of Kim Duk Su)

     2. The artist’s name: Kim Duk Su

3. The date of the work: in 2000

4. What movement does the work represent?

This album represents the efforts of he and his quartet, and how the samulnori (it means a kind of Korean traditional music) can be universal. With German Jazz group Red sun, the world famous jazz quartet, they wanted to connect the Korea traditional rhythm and beat to Jazz music and through this album Kim duk su said, we can be united and universal. We can hear the sound of jazz, hip hop and even rap music in this album with Korean traditional beat.

5. His background:

Born in l952 in Taejun, Kim Duk Su graduated Korea Music and Arts School in 1970 and learned how to play the traditional gong and drum from famous artist. In l959 he won the President's Award at the National NongAk Contest and his name was known to everyone He won again in l96l. L982 in Dallas at an international percussion contest he awed the audience and in l984 he performed at the "Supercussion" festival in Tortonto and the "World Drum Festival" in Vancouver. He made musical appearances with top performers such as Chic Corea, Herbie hancock, and Miles Davis.

Now Kim Duk-su, the professor of the Korea National University of Art, school of the traditional art) is the musician who always looks for something new in the Korea traditional music field.

  6. Other important works  

(Included questions: “how is it an example of the movement?” & “what process (es) did the artist use to create this work?”)

 The first Album, named <Red sun/ Samulnori>, was made with German Jazz group Red sun in 1989. In this album we can hear gud sori (the sound of Korea traditional shamanism) and also can feel the first zest and energy between two different music genres.

The second album produced in 1993, <Then comes the white tiger > was recorded in Korea. Unlike the first one, the mood of album follows the peaceful Korean nature sprit in the season fall. Kim duk su said, “ the first one was made in Vienna, Austria, and the second made in Korea, so the atmosphere is very different each other “, and then recommend the second piece of this album <Suyanggol>.

In the third, <Nanjang-A new Horizon> we can finally hear more natural sound, means more harmonized sound, between them. Korea traditional beat, called dongsalpuri and the western pop music beat, Hip hop, also jazz mixed, the Korean traditional theatrical song, pansori meets the western instruments. But one thing we have not to ignore is that it’s just not the Crossover music, as we often said.

7. What do you see? (Who or what are the subjects?)

The forth album, <From the earth, to the sky> has the dramatic plots like the play. The sound of drum, alarming the beginning, means the earth; the last sound of Ching (Korean traditional musical instrument) means the sky. We can guess the meaning of the sound, which filled out the album from the first to the last, is the human being. From the earth, to the sky, refers to the abundant dreams of the human being is the theme of this album.

8. What is the purpose of the work? (What is the artist trying to express?)

He made into order all the rhythms and beats scattered across different places. And learned from other traditional music players while doing so. With these accomplishments he went on tour to Japan and other 50 countries and in l978 established "samulnori pae".

Somebody said that his music doesn’t stay only in Kukak and estimated him as a jazz musician. Somebody guess that this is caused by his musical passion, which is much the same as jazz sprits. For a long time he and his samulnori pae (it means a kind of quartet in Korean) had interchanged their music with another foreign musicians and also artists in other genres. Their music, samulnori isn’t just a folk music in Korea, becoming universal music, which can be understood as world music. And in the center of this achievement, Kim duk su is there.