Wonder Women: How Linda May Han Oh’s Fearless Approach Is Changing Music
Bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh seamlessly moves between upright and electric bass, playing with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Pat Methany, Steve Wilson, Kenny Barron, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Terri Lyne Carrington, Geri Allen and Vijay Iyer. The Grammy award-winning bassist has had six releases as a bandleader in her own right, she’s played bass in the Pixar movie “Soul” (the bassist “Miho” in The Dorothea Williams Quartet is modeled after her), she’s an Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music, and is part of the Institute for Jazz and Gender Justice led by Terri Lyne Carrington.
Oh was born August 25th, 1984, to Chinese parents in Malaysia, but her family immigrated to Perth in Western Australia when she was a toddler. Oh related, “Throughout the generations, from southern China through to Malaysia, a lot of Chinese ended up moving from China to Thailand and Malaysia — in many cases, involuntarily [during the Cultural Revolution era]. Some of my family moved through, from China through to Thailand…Hearing the stories of what my family’s been through, it’s kind of inspiring to know that I’m playing jazz music now as a living…my very first memory was the day that we moved from Malaysia to Australia [when I was 3]. I just remember waking up in the morning and everything was in boxes and then moving to Perth in Western Australia during wintertime. Perth doesn’t get too cold, but in comparison to Malaysia … it was a huge shift. And it was a tough time for my family, too, like it is for any family who immigrates.”
She was playing classical music on clarinet and bassoon by age 13. Her uncle introduced her to bass guitar at age 15. She played in the school jazz band and in a garage band, getting into rock and metal…early influences included Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica. From there, she heard Ray Brown play on Oscar Peterson’s album Night Train…and her journey on the double bass began.
In 2002, Oh attended the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where she studied upright. She studied Dave Holland solo transcriptions, eventually writing a thesis on how he used devices like irregular time meters and polyrhythms, citing influences like classical Indian music rhythms.
Oh moved to New York in 2008, where she got her Master’s Degree at the Manhattan School of Music. October 2009 saw the release of her debut album, Entry. No Treble’s Phil Wain had high praise for Oh’s initial outing; “A young musician not long out of music college releases a debut record and you might expect something designed to impress…this record is nothing like that at all! Oh has crafted a release which is mature, musical, self-assured, and coherent. It can take a career to develop the kind of relaxed confidence and skill that allows a musician to minimize the ego and let the music and the muse take control but Oh plays and writes in a way that allows the music to develop organically and naturally.” Her jazz re-interpretation of The Red Hot Chili Peppers hit song “Soul To Squeeze” is a eloquent and expressive, showing both her unique voice while honoring one of her early influences.
After getting her Master’s Degree at Manhattan School of Music, she began teaching in the school’s pre-college division. She was also composing music for film. Her 2012 release, Initial Here was a musical reflection on Oh’s heritage. As an immigrant in a new country, the family had to integrate… so fitting in was a priority. As a result, connection to her family’s roots were lost. This album saw her exploring those connections. Oh shared, “I went to Shanghai, which is where my grandmother was from. I learned Mandarin when I was a small child, but at the time when we were growing up in Perth … I guess there weren’t that many Asian kids in our school, and we didn’t have that many Asian friends so the idea of learning Mandarin was kind of a little bit pointless to us at the time, because we were working so hard to integrate. I wrote one tune called “Thicker Than Water,” and that was in dedication to my mother and my grandmothers. It’s half in Mandarin, half in English, and I had a fabulous singer, Jen Sheu. These lyrics all refer to small things to do with my grandmothers’ and my mother’s lives.”
Her 2013 release, Sun Pictures, is named after the oldest remaining outdoor movie theater still in operation, located in Broome, Australia. This album was “a set of musical postcards from her travels across the country and around the world.” “Each one of these tunes is a tiny snapshot of my recent travels and of my experiences playing music,” Oh shared. “I think it’s a good process to keep writing even when you’re traveling and working and playing. It gets a bit tough when you have to run from one city to another, but I always try to find the time.”
Her fourth release was 2017’s Walk Against the Wind. Oh explored “both the challenges and the rich rewards of an artist’s journey.” The album was inspired by the mime Marcel Marceau’s performance…struggling against “invisible but pervasive forces while also embracing the beauty and pleasure to be found in taking the paths in life that offer greater challenges – but also richer rewards.”
“Walk Against Wind is about the paths that we choose,” Oh explains. “Sometimes they end up being the harder paths, but in the long run they prove more fruitful.”
2019’s Aventurine was an ambitious project combining jazz with string arrangements and vocal ensemble. The album is a stunning example of her compositional depth, blending rhythmic motifs and lush textures. Her use of a string quartet alongside jazz ensemble showcases her ability to bridge musical genres seamlessly. The album was praised for its adventurous spirit and cohesive storytelling. “Aventurine is a translucent mineral, a type of quartz with a shimmering effect, or ‘adventurescence’. It is most commonly found in the color green. It has been known to symbolize creativity, opportunity and evolution. Each one of these compositions are dear to me, connected to integral moments of my life and powerful memories that I keep close at hand. While a handful of these compositions were started and completed within the last few years, the lifetime some of these pieces span ten to thirteen years. Over the years the music has evolved with each performance and the arrangements have been constantly development and refined, to a point where I consider them living, breathing entities that have finally matured into a state where they are comfortable in their own skin,” Oh shared.
Her most recent release, The Glass Hours (2023), continues to expand her sonic exploration. The album is “based on abstract themes of the fragility of time and life; exploring paradoxes seeded within our individual and societal values”. She married piano player Fabian Almazan in 2018 and had given birth to a child…hence the song “Hatchling” on this release.
Oh has established herself as an adventurous and eclectic bassist, composer and improviser. Her ability to seamlessly merge technical brilliance with emotional depth sets her apart, making her a sought-after performer and composer. Her music often explores personal and cultural narratives, from her Malaysian-Chinese heritage to her experiences navigating the jazz world. Beyond her own prolific discography of recordings, her contributions to projects like Soul and her role in the Institute for Jazz and Gender Justice highlight her dedication to both artistic excellence and advocacy. As she pushes artistic boundaries and explores new creative avenues, the question isn’t whether she will surprise us again—but how.
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Brittany Frompovich is a highly regarded educator, clinician, blogger, and bassist who currently resides in the Washington DC/NOVA region. For more content from Brittany, check out her blog, her YouTube channel, and her Bandcamp site. She also offers handmade unisex music-themed jewelry through her Etsy store. Get a Wonder Woman Tee!
