Roger Lin 林煒翔
is a guitarist/composer based in New York City area. He has released two records as a bandleader.
His latest album Exploitation Suite, recorded in Brooklyn, New York, featuring Chaz Martineau, Isaac Levien, Quinton Cain, Moshe Elmakias, Simon Willson, and Willis Edmundson, was released in December 2023. The record receives a 4-star review by All About Jazz. Neil Duggan writes “richness and variety in the musical texture which promotes repeated listens” and “slow-burning album builds up a mosaic of elegant and contemporary arrangements which has much to recommend it”.
The self-released record also was nominated for two Taiwan National Awards, the 35th Golden Melody Awards (金曲獎) and the 15th Golden Indie Music Awards (金音獎).
His debut work “Whisper of the Isolated Ones” was released in 2019, featuring Phil Grenadier on trumpet, Ryosuke Tsutsui on piano, Soso Gelovani on bass, and Nick Groat on drums. The 6-tune mini album, was recognized by his homeland Taiwan, nominated for The Best Jazz Album and The Best Jazz Composition for the 12th Golden Indie Music Awards 金音獎 , the highest prestige for jazz category in the country.
Roger has been actively performing and recording as a leader and sideman in U.S and Asia. He has toured in the U.S and Taiwan with different groups. When not travelling, Roger mostly leads his newest projects in local venues, and playing with different groups in Brooklyn.
Selected Quotes
“He’s got a tone that is palpable, like liquid mercury, and mixes it with some rich tones but never forgets how to swing it.”
— George Harris (Jazz Weekly)
“Mr. Lin’s songs utilize original chord changes and are not derivative of earlier standards, challenging the musicians while being accessible to listeners.”
— Scott Yanow (JazzArtistryNow)
“Lin plays what I would describe as bright and sometimes burry guitar, his lines in the Jim Hall, Barney Kessel tradition, except when he ventures, occasionally, into uncharted territory and his playing becomes more complex”
— Derek Ansell (Jazz Journal)
A bit more
Roger also holds a bachelor degree of English Literature from FuJen University in Taipei, and served substitute military service for Taiwan Government, when he was assigned to under-funded public schools in rural area to teach English.
Born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, Roger began his musical journey at the age of 5 when he started playing piano. Being heavily drawn to harmonic instruments, he got deeply interested in the guitars at 14, where he could explore and express harmonies he learned on the piano with different textures. In 2019, Roger finished his music education with a scholarship from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied with jazz masters Mick Goodrick, George Garzone, Ian Froman and many others.