Born in Seoul, Korean jazz vocalist Youn Sun Nah was raised by musical parents and began her career as a member of the Korean Symphony Orchestra. Nah eventually left home in 1995 and moved to Paris, where she studied jazz and French chanson at the CIM Jazz School, one of the oldest jazz institutions in Europe. Nah excelled at jazz, which she mixed with a healthy dose of Asian folk and avant-garde pop. Backed by her own band, she began climbing the French jazz charts with a series of quirky, elegant albums. Her success was initially limited to France and Korea, but 2010's Same Girl helped spread her music to the rest of Europe, with some publications heralding her as the next Melody Gardot. ~ Andrew Leahey