Linda May Han Oh, musician, 39: Q&A

Jazz musician Linda May Han Oh on being immortalised in a Pixar film, touring with her husband and son - and her surprising musical influences while growing up in Perth.

Grammy Award winner: Linda May Han Oh. Picture: Shervin Lainez

You were immortalised by Pixar in the 2020 film Soul. What was it like to see yourself as a cartoon character? I really respect the way Pixar pays attention to details. They had several cameras in my booth just monitoring how I was moving – and consequently, the animated character showed exactly my fingering and exactly how I hold my instrument. There has been a lack of representation of women in jazz [throughout time]. You might see an old picture of a woman playing an instrument and not even holding it correctly, or holding it with the wrong hand, but they’re wearing some sexy outfit… The Pixar experience wasn’t like that.

Although you were born in Malaysia, you were raised in Perth from the age of three. How much did Australian music influence you? All the bands that have come out of Australia and paved the way, like AC/DC and INXS, are from the rock scene. A lot of my influence came from what we heard on the local scene in Perth.

With classical training in clarinet and bassoon, how did you find the bass? When I was in high school my uncle gave us an electric bass and I started a band with my friends. We jammed and learned songs by ear – a lot of rock songs. Also, my older sister had eclectic taste so I was exposed to a lot of different types of music. While most of my friends were listening to everyday pop songs, my sister was showing me Meshell Ndegeocello, Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew, Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans.

Your husband Fabian Almazan is a jazz pianist. What’s it like living, working and touring together? It’s actually quite easy. We’ve been playing music together for the past 18 years, so we know each other very well musically. We were musicians first, and it wasn’t until many years later that we became a couple. The tricky part is the logistics of travelling with our three-year-old son. He’s been touring with us since he was nine months old.

Rock roots: Linda May Han Oh. Picture: Shervin Lainez

After winning a Grammy Award, being described as Australia’s greatest contemporary jazz musician and named bassist of the year by the Jazz Journalists Association five times, what could you possibly have left to accomplish? To be honest there’s still so much to do. I’m super grateful. At the same time, there’s still so much I want to work on. It’s important to stay grounded in what you want to achieve, because sometimes you won’t get those accolades. That doesn’t mean that you’re any less of a musician or artist. It may just mean it’s not your time yet.

What are some career highlights? Performing my own NPR Tiny Desk Concert. And being able to perform with musicians I listened to when I began playing, like Terri Lyne Carrington, Geri Allen and Kenny Barron. And coming home to Australia on a tour with Pat Metheny.

What is it like when things go wrong on stage? As a musician who improvises for a living, sometimes the moments when things don’t go quite right make things more fun. I played with Pat Metheny at Newport Jazz Festival when it was just completely rained out. There was something quite beautiful about having to play through that, and looking out at the crowd – you have to really want to be there when you’re standing under pouring rain.

Linda May Han Oh will perform with the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra at the State Theatre Centre of WA on July 13, and at Bennelong in Sydney on July 21.