It took ten years from the time I saw the promotional poster back then and eagerly awaited it, until I finally made it to this performance.
Whether I was feeling the cold wind while crossing a railway bridge in a small town in Tennessee, eating Sherbet ice cream at Rynek Square in a rural Polish village, reading difficult books in a tiny book cafe in a small alley of a Shanghai.
When I felt that winter had arrived—I naturally sought out and listened to “코끝에 겨울” again.
While I felt a thrill listening to Grove Washington Junior’s “Just the Two of Us” whenever I had the chance to request a song during live performances at various jazz bars, I still believe that Urban Zakapa is the musician who sings “Just the Two of Us” best. In particular, Jo Hyun-ah’s performance of ‘Piana’ at this concert gave me goosebumps so intense that the expression “I got goosebumps all over my body” feels not enough.
I don’t know why.
Ten years ago, when I was keeping vigil in the hospital room around the time my father passed away, I endlessly replayed ‘떠나간 사람, 남겨진 사람’; on my way back to Korea, having given up my job in the U.S.—which was the first step toward my dream—in a state of panic, I filled my playlist with Urban Zakapa’s songs; and this year, as always, when I opened my eyes on an early winter morning, I suddenly had a craving to listen to ‘이 밤이 특별해진 건’ and ‘Empty,’ so I hurriedly connected Bluetooth to play them.
I don’t really know why Urban Zakapa’s songs bring me comfort in moments big and small.