‘Gifted, very gifted’
Kitchener teen Dave Hjin heralded as Canada’s next great jazz guitarist
Dave Hjin released his first album in April, just after finishing his second year in the vaunted jazz studies program at Humber College in Toronto.
Hjin is 19 and called his album “Before We are 20.” Available on several streaming services, it includes 10 original songs, and one cover of a Leonard Cohen tune. Hjin plays guitar and sings throughout the album.
It is the second recording for Hjin, who has also released an EP with four jazz standards recorded live during one of his trio’s performances at The Jazz Room in Waterloo.
As soft-spoken as he is talented, Hjin was born in South Korea. His parents are professional musicians. His father, Mike, plays guitar. His mother, Sunny, plays piano. They worked as studio musicians, arrangers and producers.
The family moved to Kitchener in 2009, and Hjin started playing guitar not long afterwards. He learned his favourite songs by Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton.
“It was just a lot of blues and rock,” said Hjin.
Impressed with his progress, his parents urged him to start exploring jazz. So Hjin started listening to and emulating guitarists Pat Metheny and Wes Montgomery, and the lightning-fast saxophone solos of bebop innovator Charlie Parker.
“That was probably around Grade 7,” said Hjin.
When he started high school, Hjin attended Cameron Heights Collegiate. It has a diverse student population, and lots of resources, including a music program. Hjin loved it.
Every Saturday he was going to Toronto to attend the Humber College community school as well. On those days Hjin’s teacher was one of the leading jazz guitarists in the country — Lorne Lofsky.
Inquisitive, hard working, with a great attitude and up for anything, is how Lofsky describes the young guitar player.
“He has something called ‘perfect pitch,’” said Lofsky. “Anything he hears he can recognize it, and emulate it right away.”
Calling him extremely talented, Lofsky said Hjin soaked up all the lessons.
“I had a great time teaching him,” said Lofsky. “We did a lot of playing and talking, mainly playing.”
The group KW Big Band Theory was playing in Hjin’s high school and working with some of the students there. Tim Moher plays tenor and soprano sax with the band, and he remembers hearing Hjin play guitar when he was in Grade 9.
“By Grade 10 or so I said: ‘Dave, we have to play together.’ And I hired him for street gigs up in Waterloo,” said Moher.
Moher calls Hjin “a musical genius.” For inventiveness and sensitivity, he’s never heard anyone like him. Moher’s latest CD is a fusion of jazz, classical and Celtic music called “The Clefs of Moher.” Hjin plays on every track.
Moher remembers one recording session when Hjin picked up a baritone guitar for the first time and played it for a few minutes. He used it to record the next track.
“He just laid it down, he liked the sound,” said Moher.
When Hjin was in Grade 11 he was playing guitar for KW Big Band Theory. The 17-piece ensemble plays a mix of jazz standards and new material. For a long time, the band leader was Robin Habermehl.
“Incredible,” said Habermehl. “Nice kid, unbelievable musician. He has perfect pitch and a photographic memory.” Habermehl remembers leading the band through a rehearsal. Something wasn’t right. He stopped the musicians and studied the score in front of him. He asked Hjin to come up and look at the music and see if he could spot what was wrong.
“Right from his chair he said: ‘The second trumpet should have a flat nine on that chord,’ and he’s looking at this guitar chart,” said Habermehl.
“Dave had already figured it out by listening to it, then he would play the chord on his guitar and said: ‘He needs to be playing a D flat,’” said Habermehl.
Moher remembers the first time Hjin played with Big Band Theory, and the reaction of the band members when they heard Hjin’s first solo.
“Everyone looked over, jaws on the floor,” said Moher. “Gifted, very gifted.”
Hjin practices incessantly. On the way into the Humber College community school on Saturday mornings he sat in the back of a van and played his guitar. On the way home, same thing. At home, he practices for up to six hours a day.
“And the nicest kid, no ego, no crap,” said Habermehl. “He was always respectful, never bragged, was very humble.”
Habermehl calls Hjin one of the finest musicians he’s ever known.
“Like scary good,” he said.
When Hjin graduated from Cameron Heights his parents gave him a very special guitar — a 1971 Gibson ES-335. Hjin chipped in to help pay for it. He was accepted into the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but opted for the jazz program at Humber College.
He is halfway through that program, and not yet out of his teens. Hjin is still developing as a musician. And those who know his playing can not help but wonder what the future will bring.
“It’s really interesting,” said Moher. “He’s still a kid.”