Last updated October 27, 2026
Cover of *Living Water* (self-produced, 2016) by Hyunil Lee, his only album. The sleeve is an abstract blue ink-splash design with his name and the title lettered on it; it is not a photograph of the artist. Standard copyright, all rights reserved, held by Hyunil Lee. This is not a Creative Commons or public-domain image; it is an album cover shown as an honestly disclosed editorial identification image. — https://music.apple.com/us/album/living-water/1104092455 (Apple Music artwork for the album, 1000 x 1000 version)
Hyunil Lee is an electric guitarist who plays jazz in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas and who studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. All About Jazz calls him a South Korean guitarist, and its listing gives his birth date as October 5, 1975. His one recording is Living Water, a self-produced album of mostly original music made in Dallas with a local quintet and released in 2016 or 2017, depending on the listing. This is a short profile because very little has been published about him: everything below comes from three pages at All About Jazz (an artist biography, an album page and a review) and from the album's listing at Apple Music. He has no Discogs, MusicBrainz or Wikidata entry, and no Hangul spelling of his name appears in any source.
Where he was born is not stated anywhere. The review that calls him South Korean, by Edward Blanco, also calls the album's bassist Young Heo a fellow South Korean. The biography does not say whether he finished school in Korea or elsewhere, only that he moved to Boston after high school to attend Berklee. The same biography once calls him Neil, which looks like an English first name or nickname.
According to that biography he started on guitar at about 16, came to jazz after first hearing rock and blues, and then became interested in studying it. At Berklee he studied with, among others, Riche Hart, Mark White, John Baboian and Mick Goodrick, and in 2003 he was praised for a performance made up entirely of his own compositions there. No Berklee page naming him and no dates of enrollment were found, so those details rest on the biography alone.
The biography lists the places he has played as Boston (it names the Lilypad), New Orleans (the Crescent City Brew House and the Lounge Lizard), Los Angeles and the New York area, and says he has led bands at Scat Jazz in Dallas. It says he joined a 3D project called Mirage in 2004 and that the project won awards, among them the 34th Student Academy Awards. A short called Mirage, directed by Youngwoong Jang of the School of Visual Arts in New York, shared the animation gold medal at those awards on June 9, 2007. The biography does not name the director, and no other source connects Lee to that film or says what his part was.
Living Water is the record that carries his name. Blanco's review, dated March 15, 2017, calls it his recording debut and describes straight-ahead jazz built on Lee's originals, with glimpses of bebop, ballads, vocals and a touch of fusion. It was recorded in Dallas with the tenor and soprano saxophonist Quamon Fowler, the bassist Young Heo, the pianist Colin Campbell and the drummer Terence Hobdy, and the vocalist Shaleia Latrice James sings on the last track, an alternate take of "Secret Place". Of the nine tracks, eight are credited to Lee and one, "Blues Lee", to Fowler. Apple Music dates the release to April 29, 2016 and lists a total running time of 58 minutes, while All About Jazz carries one entry for the album dated 2016 and another dated 2017.
No other album, sideman credit or later release has turned up. The biography says he is performing actively around Dallas/Fort Worth, but that page was last updated on March 15, 2017, so his current activity is not confirmed.
No interview was found, so this section sticks to what the biography and the review say.
The biography describes a player who came to jazz through rock and blues and who studied at Berklee with guitar teachers including Mick Goodrick. Blanco hears the album as straight-ahead jazz with glimpses of bebop, ballads and a little fusion, with Lee taking the lead in nearly every tune without crowding his bandmates' solos. He describes the first two pieces as fairly boppish, the title track as more withdrawn and warmer, "Secret Place" as a light tune that features Fowler on soprano saxophone with Lee in a supporting role, "Steadfast" as lively and perky, and "Blues Lee" as a fast, blues-tinged number with solos from the whole group.
The song titles, among them "Walking in the Garden", "Living Water", "Faithful", "Wash Over Me" and "Steadfast", are drawn from the language of faith, though no source says what the music is meant to express.
South Korean jazz guitarist based in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Born October 5, 1975 per All About Jazz (birthplace not published). One album as a leader; no sideman credits found. No Discogs, MusicBrainz or Wikidata entry.
| Album | Year | Label | Personnel | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living Water | 2016 (Apple Music, April 29, 2016); All About Jazz also lists 2017 | Self-produced | Hyunil Lee (electric guitar), Quamon Fowler (tenor and soprano saxophones), Young Heo (bass), Colin Campbell (piano), Terence Hobdy (drums), Shaleia Latrice James (vocals on track 9) | Recorded in Dallas, Texas. Nine tracks, about 58 minutes: "Walking in the Garden" (8:04), "Fortitude" (6:28), "Living Water" (7:41), "Faithful" (6:17), "Secret Place" (6:50), "Wash Over Me" (7:09), "Steadfast" (5:14), "Blues Lee" (6:13) and an alternate vocal take of "Secret Place" (4:40). All compositions are by Lee except "Blues Lee", credited to Fowler on Apple Music. Reviewed by Edward Blanco at All About Jazz on March 15, 2017, as Lee's recording debut. | Apple Music | Amazon |
None found.
None of the musicians on Living Water has a profile on JazzProfiles.com.