Sangmin Lee

Teaches at The Korea Society

Sangmin Lee has had an illustrious career in Korea as one of its most in-demand recording session drummers, performing with artists such as Rain (비), Lena Junghyun Park (박정현), Juck Lee (이적), Sora Lee (이소라), and many other renowned Korean musicians in various genres.

Seeking new challenges, after more than 10 years of session experience, Sangmin moved to the U.S. and graduated from Berklee College of Music (B.M.) and New York University (M.M). The fresh and vibrant NY music scene led him to explore and expand his musicality by collaborating with artists such as Grammy-winning music producer Fran Cathcart, Casey Benjamin, Dave Pietro, Sarah Charles and several others. In 2008, Sangmin’s reputation as a top jazz artist grew when he won his first award at the Jarasum International Jazz Festival (자라섬 국제 재즈페스티발) and, in 2010, he produced his first solo album titledEvolution. Like his album title, Sangmin is pushing himself to test his limits as a musician, not just as a drummer.

New York’s Jazz scene is Lee’s next new frontier as he leaves his fame and culture behind in Korea. His musical presence will be an everlasting footprint in Korea but his innovative musical talents can bring a breath of fresh air to New York City. The great jazz fusion drummer Akira Jimbo described Sangmin’s style as a “Hyper jazz rock hip hop techno mixture!”