| Jazz |
Summary : SongAh Chae’s All Day Long is a lyrical, emotionally rich jazz piano trio album blending classical sensitivity, subtle improvisation, and international interplay with bassist Manos Stratis an drummer Joshua Wheatley.
SongAh Chae’s All Day Long: A Refined and Emotional Piano Trio Redefining Contemporary Jazz
From its opening moments, All Day Long casts an immediate spell. The introduction to “Be Still,” colored by subtle Asian inflections, serves as a gentle reminder of pianist and composer SongAh Chae’s South Korean heritage. Yet what follows extends far beyond questions of geography or cultural identity. Chae draws upon her roots with elegance and restraint before opening the door to a musical language shaped equally by classical tradition, romantic expression, and an instinctive gift for melody.
The result is an album of remarkable accessibility. While firmly grounded in contemporary jazz, All Day Long possesses a lyrical clarity that should resonate well beyond the genre’s traditional audience. What makes the record so engaging is not its multicultural makeup in itself, but rather its ability to communicate through a shared emotional vocabulary. Chae’s compositions speak to something universal, inviting listeners into a space where beauty, contemplation, and human connection take precedence over stylistic labels.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of Chae’s artistry lies in her ability to transform intention into sound with the precision of a painter translating an image onto canvas. Her musical identity has grown increasingly refined over successive releases, and this album feels less like an isolated statement than another chapter in a larger artistic journey. Together with Cypriot bassist Manos Stratis and British drummer Joshua Wheatley, Chae has developed a trio whose evolution unfolds organically across a series of recordings. Formed in 2023, the ensemble operates less as a traditional piano trio and more as a collective voice in which every contribution carries equal weight.
That democratic spirit defines the album. Rather than positioning the pianist as a central soloist supported by a rhythm section, the trio embraces constant interaction. Melody, rhythm, and texture often overlap and exchange roles, creating music that thrives on attentive listening and mutual trust. Throughout All Day Long, the sound remains expressive without becoming demonstrative, balancing moments of stillness and introspection with passages animated by an understated but compelling groove.
If comparisons are necessary, Chae occupies a space distinct from many of today’s leading jazz pianists. She does not pursue the angular experimentation associated with Kris Davis, nor does she share the expansive, often cinematic abstraction of Tania Giannouli. Her approach is perhaps closer in spirit to artists who value atmosphere and emotional architecture as highly as technical innovation. There are moments when her sensitivity to texture recalls Marilyn Crispell’s more lyrical work, although Chae remains less concerned with deconstruction than with narrative continuity. Ultimately, the comparisons are useful only up to a point. What emerges most clearly throughout All Day Long is the gradual consolidation of a highly personal voice.
Stratis and Wheatley play a particularly important role in shaping the album’s dramatic architecture. Their contribution goes well beyond accompaniment. Rather than simply reinforcing Chae’s musical vision, they offer a parallel perspective, enriching each composition through their own creative responses. Once this dynamic becomes apparent, the trio’s working method reveals itself. These pieces have clearly been tested, refined, and lived on stage, and that experience gives the recording an unmistakable sense of momentum. There is an energy running through the album that never fades, a feeling that each composition grows naturally from the one before it.
Listening to the record often feels like following a carefully crafted narrative. Chae embraces romanticism without apology, and nowhere is this more evident than on “Vindication.” When Stratis reaches for the bow, the atmosphere deepens immediately. The emergence of organ-like sonorities and the gradual expansion of the thematic material evoke a distinctly European sensibility. At moments, one hears echoes of Ravel in the harmonic colors and textures. Elsewhere, darker shades emerge from the piano, suggesting a distant kinship with Beethoven’s dramatic intensity. These references never feel imitative. Rather, they reflect the breadth of influences Chae carries within her artistic vocabulary, influences that she reshapes into something unmistakably her own.
Another highlight arrives in the title track, “All Day Long,” where the trio demonstrates its ability to sustain tension through subtle development rather than overt dramatic gestures. The composition unfolds patiently, allowing motifs to evolve almost imperceptibly. Wheatley’s drumming proves especially effective here. His touch remains light, but his interventions constantly redirect the music’s trajectory, encouraging movement without forcing it. The track serves as an excellent example of the trio’s collective discipline and refusal to settle for predictable structures.
Similarly, “Be Still” functions as more than an introduction. Returning to it after hearing the entire album reveals how carefully Chae establishes many of the work’s central themes within its opening minutes. The balance between contemplation and motion, the blending of cultural references without overt fusion, and the trio’s commitment to collective expression are all present from the outset. What initially appears simple gradually reveals considerable structural sophistication.
The trio’s greatest achievement may be the sense of comfort and immersion it creates while continually surprising the listener. This is not a group built around virtuoso display or dramatic gestures. In fact, some listeners may occasionally wish for a greater willingness to disrupt the album’s prevailing elegance. A few passages risk becoming almost too refined, their beauty bordering on predictability. Yet even this restraint appears largely intentional. Chae seems more interested in sustained emotional coherence than in sudden contrasts, and the album ultimately benefits from that consistency.
Each musician listens, reacts, and contributes with complete commitment, creating a genuine three way dialogue. In many piano trios, one voice inevitably dominates. Here, every instrument is indispensable to the music’s identity.
Chae’s compositional process helps explain this balance. Her works often begin with images, ideas, or spiritual reflections before gradually finding form at the piano. Melody, harmony, and rhythm emerge simultaneously through improvisation, eventually crystallizing into compositions that preserve the spontaneity of their original conception. Importantly, that flexibility remains present in performance. The music never feels fixed or predetermined. Instead, each piece retains the capacity to evolve and respond to the moment.
All Day Long is both intellectually rewarding and immediately inviting. Listeners expecting grand effects or dramatic climaxes may initially overlook its achievements. This is an album built on details. Focus on the bass and new layers emerge. Shift attention to the drums and subtle structural decisions become apparent. Return to the piano and fresh melodic nuances reveal themselves. The rewards come through attentive listening, and they are considerable.
SongAh Chae demonstrates not only a refined sense of beauty but also a genuine desire to share that beauty with others. Supported by two exceptional collaborators whose contributions are essential to every aspect of the recording, she has created a work of richness, elegance, and emotional depth.
More broadly, All Day Long arrives at a moment when international piano trios are increasingly reshaping the contours of contemporary jazz. The traditional model of the American piano trio remains influential, but many of the most compelling developments now emerge from ensembles whose members bring different national, cultural, and musical backgrounds into a shared creative space. Chae, Stratis, and Wheatley exemplify this evolution. Their diversity is not a marketing angle or aesthetic statement. It is simply part of the music’s natural language.
Judging from the chemistry captured on this recording, the trio’s story is only beginning. All Day Long may not seek to reinvent the piano trio format, but it succeeds in something arguably more difficult. It creates a fully realized musical world, one built on trust, patience, and a profound understanding of collective expression. In an era often drawn toward immediacy and spectacle, that achievement feels both refreshing and quietly significant.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, June 16th, 2026
Follow PARIS-MOVE on X
::::::::::::::::::::::::
Musicians :
SongAh Chae | Piano
Manos Stratis | Double Bass
Joshua Wheatley | Drums
Track Listing :
Be Still
I Shall Not Want
Broken Spirit
Vindication
Come and See
In Time of Trouble
My Fortress
All Day Long
Mere Breath
Answer Me
Recording – Rafael Sánchez López at Hive Recording Studio
Mix & Master – Pablo Schuller