The Living Collection (American Dreams, 2023)

The Wire - Editor’s Choice July 2023 Playlist (listen)

“Mok deftly maintains the singular balance between the notated and the improvised as well as abstraction and accessibility, thus breaking out of narrow genreist designations, to make music which is urgently relevant.” -All About Jazz (full review)

“Mok has indeed created a living collection through sound. It’s ornate and organic, a living, breathing world.” -Dusted Magazine (full review)

“In her own way, Mok is a progressive-leaning creator whose Living Collection work makes for an auspicious debut. I look forward to listening to what she brings next.” -Jazz Trail (full review)

Other press

“Mok stood out for her expansive curiosity, rigor in artistic practice, and embrace of different practices -- not only making provocative and authentic connections, but also playing with and deepening our understanding of form and expression.” -Elena Park (full review)

“I realized how good Mok is at tackling unconventional grooves and bringing an almost orchestral approach to the  music; the depth they bring to “Squirmy,” for example, is astonishing. The thorny harmonic trappings almost seem to liberate Webber.” -Peter Margasak on Anna Webber’s Shimmer Wince (full review)

“It is often Lesley Mok who determines the mood of the piece by weighing each of her gestures, often galvanized by the directions taken by the saxophone and the gayageum, often evolving in parallel. Chief colorist, Mok is eager for details and the ephemeral.” -Citizen Jazz on David Leon’s Bird’s Eye (full review)

“They work with an orchestral sensibility while retaining a truly elastic sense of time, and it’s integral in subtly propelling this piece.” -Peter Margasak on Camila Nebbia’s La Permanencia de los Ecos (full review)

“Her playing teetered between haunted quietude and boisterousness, branching out from barely-there rings to uncanny buzzes and robotic vocals. Her music felt sparse despite all the activity, and her tools were part of what made it so intriguing.” -I Care If You Listen on Mok’s solo set (Joe’s Pub, 2022) (full review)