‘Deeply creative jazz master’ Linda May Han Oh on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ influence, touring as a mother and using her Chinese name out of cultural pride

Linda May Han Oh, model for a bass-playing character in Pixar film Soul, is a solo artist with six acclaimed albums and a rising film score composer

She talks about how cultural pride led her to use her Chinese name professionally, becoming a professor at the Berklee College of Music and touring with her son

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Grammy Award-winning jazz bassist Linda May Han Oh at the 60th Monterey Jazz Festival in the US state of California. She talks about being influenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and deciding to use her Chinese name professionally. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Published: 4:15am, 26 Jan 2024

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine and Primus are not the bands a Grammy Award-winning jazz bassist, composer and band leader usually cites as key early influences.

But there is nothing usual about Linda May Han Oh, who was the model for the animated, bass-playing character Miho in the Oscar-winning Pixar film, Soul.

Born in Malaysia, raised in Australia and based near the US city of Boston – where she teaches at the Berklee College of Music and is a key member of the Institute for Jazz and Gender Justice – Oh has all the basses covered.

This holds true as a solo artist with six acclaimed albums to her credit, a rising film score composer and as the bassist of choice in the bands of Pat Metheny, Vijay Iyer, Joe Lovano, Terri Lyne Carrington and other jazz greats.

Oh was born in Malaysia, raised in Australia and is based near the US city of Boston. Photo: Instagram/@lindamayhanoh

The mother of a three-year-old son, Oh created and teaches a number of lessons for Apple’s BassGuru iPhone and iPad app. She is also a devoted environmentalist.

Her albums are released as plastic-free CDs – and as downloads – on Biophilia, a proudly green record label founded in 2011 by her husband and frequent musical partner, Cuban-born pianist Fabian Almazan.