Home » Jazz Musicians » Francis Hon

Francis Hon

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Dr. Francis Hon (洪維浩) began playing classical piano at the age of six. In 2011, Francis moved to the United States to pursue a Doctorate in Piano Performance at The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Gregory Allen, the Grand Prize winner of the 1980 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition. Francis was always influenced by a variety of musical genres, which formed the foundation of his future musical style. Francis ignited his passion for jazz music in Austin, “the live music capital of the world.” While continuing his classical piano studies, he took up jazz piano with Jeff Hellmer and started playing with many musicians on the Austin jazz scene. He also worked as the Assistant Artistic Director and Lead Pianist for “Life in the City,” a weekly concert with jazz music and other genres. Francis’ final doctorate thesis in the work of Nikolai Kapustin solidified his interest in combining elements of classical music with the jazz idiom.

After graduation, Francis moved to New York City to attend the Jazz Studies Masters Program at New York University. While acting as an Adjunct Instructor of Piano at NYU, he studied with renowned musicians on today’s jazz scene, including: John Scofield, Stefon Harris, Don Friedman, Alan Broadbent, Billy Drummond, Alex Sipiagin, Ralph Lalama, Billy Drewes, Ron McClure, Tony Moreno, Alan Ferber, Michael Rodriguez, and others. He also lead his trio and quartet in various distinguished productions and events, performed in many music venues in New York including Steinway Hall, Club Bonafide, Rockwood Music Hall, ShapeShifter Lab, Tomi Jazz, Tishman Auditorium, Williamsburg Music Center, Queensborough Performing Arts Center Theatre, The Provincetown Playhouse, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, and others.

In 2017, Francis co-founded World Jazz Quintet (WJQ) along with Dr. Scott Litroff, David Ullmann, Jeong Hwan Park, and Daisuke Konno. The WJQ draws from a variety of styles including jazz standard, American and Asian pop, contemporary, experimental, and folk music from around the world to produce a truly unique and highly improvisational sound. Francis' jazz trio debut album, "Before Dawn," was released in 2018 to positive media reviews. The album consists almost entirely of Francis’ original compositions and arrangements and features Billy Drummond. Audio of the album is available on all music platforms.

Besides music performances, Francis has been the Official Educational Partner at Steinway & Sons since 2019. Through this partnership, he devoted himself to connect students to the brand and bring piano/music education to next level.

World Jazz Quintet: Live At QPAC Theatre

Read "Live At QPAC Theatre" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
July 28, 2020

Although all the members of the World Jazz Quintet are New York-based, the group's name does evoke the global palette of its music. Led by pianist Francis Hon—who, on his trio outing Before Dawn (2018), worked within pop and classical idioms in addition to conventional jazz—the World Jazz Quintet incorporates traditional Asian folk musics and a good dose of funk-based fusion in achieving its synthesis of musical touchstones. The seven cuts on Live at QPAC Theatre are well-paced, ...

Album Review

Francis Hon: Before Dawn

Read "Before Dawn" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
June 11, 2018

Taiwanese pianist Francis Hon didn't plan on becoming a jazz musician. But, during his doctoral studies in piano performance at the University of Texas, he met Jeff Hellmer, Director of Jazz Studies at the university, and that connection initiated Hon's pathway into the world of jazz--one he further explored during an eventual move to New York to intensively study jazz at NYU. On Before Dawn, his debut trio album, Hon shows that his thorough immersion in jazz has been time ...

“With a confident, graceful tone and a smart harmonic sensibility...with his harmonic concept at its most sophisticated, it’s the record’s best evidence that Hon has a promising career ahead of him in this music.” — ALL ABOUT JAZZ

“I do notice Francis’ use of triads and how it has expanded his musical thinking. Nice compositions, too. It’s very beautiful...which is obviously close to his heart.” — ALAN BROADBENT

“Francis has an extensive background in classical music, which gives him good facility at the keyboard.” — DON FRIEDMAN