Yes, it is true. The gorgeous bright orange lane house that has been the home of Shanghai’s jazz education nexus for most of the last two years will soon cease to be such, and the jazz school will move to a larger space in the same neighborhood. The new location, which is is still undergoing renovations, is located in a lane off Wukang rd near Hunan rd. It has more space than the current location, including more large rooms for ensemble classes, rehearsals, kids classes, and even a larger room for student concerts which will double as a dance studio.

There are beautiful green tree views from many of the windows, and the charm of the French Concession is just as strong as the old JZ School’s lane house. The new space will be open just in time for the fall semester to begin, and of course that will mean lots of great back-to-school packages and class offers.

The new location is Wu Kang Rd Lane 280 – No.12, which is between the Hunan Rd junction and Ferguson lane. A good reference point is the Elementary School on the corner of Wukang Rd and Lane 280. They’ve just torn down some old ugly buildings in front of it and renovated it.

For other news about new classes and events for fall 2008 at the school, check the school’s website.

Also, after Mike Stern finishes his show Saturday, the “In Between Band” will play one late set. This is a group that has been playing the pre-big band set for the last few Saturdays while Flamenco guitarist Abraham Carmona is off touring for one month. The group consists mostly of members of the JZ Latin Project, but rather than playing salsa for dancing like they do on Friday nights, this show is more oriented toward original Latin jazz. Abraham’s Flamenco-jazz group will return in two weeks to take over the early Saturday set again from June 14.

For all the musicians out there

Mike Stern will also give an hour-long master class earlier on Saturday, to answer questions about music and offer advice on playing and practicing, etc. This short session should be an interesting opportunity for musicians to learn what makes him tick. My guess is that the question he gets asked the most often is “What was it like to play with Miles Davis?” He’s probably sick of that one, so we’ll see if it gets asked…and what the answer will be if so.

The master class is 50RMB and will also be at JZ Club.

UPDATE: Erik Truffaz will also give a master class the day after his concert, it will be Friday at 6:30pm at JZ club, admission is free. Here are some more details on the facebook event listing.

to recap:

Erik Truffaz – Thurs May 29, 10pm at JZ Club, 46 w. fuxing rd – 100RMB

Erik Truffaz master class – Friday May 30, 6:30-7:30pmpm at JZ Club, 46 w. fuxing rd – free!

Mike Stern master class – Saturday May 31, 5pm-6pm at JZ Club, 46 w. fuxing rd – 50RMB

Mike Stern quartet concert – Saturday May 31, 10pm at JZ Club, 46 w. fuxing rd – 100RMB

In fact I went in a few weeks ago hoping to check out the band, which is led by former JZ all-star big band tenor saxophonist Tang Ying, but when I showed up I was told they had already finished for the evening.  I was incredulous, as it was barely eleven p.m. at the time, but apparently they play from 7-10 p.m. rather than trying to compete for listeners with the later-night jazz venues.  Fair enough.

So when I returned a few days ago at the appropriate hour, I was disappointed to miss the band’s show yet again–I was told the band is now only performing two nights a week due to the high musician overhead and low revenue situation the club is in.  So if you are ready to check them out, go on a Friday or Saturday night between 7 and 10 p.m.  On Fridays, the show features a female singer who has an eclectic style drawing on jazz, pop, and R&B.  On Saturdays, the show features the electro-jazz-pop-funk sounds of E-Groove, a group Tang Ying has played with for a few years already.

If you make it, let me know how it is in a comment here!  I do still intend to go hear them, I can’t go wrong the third time (hopefully).

TTing, next to Big Bamboo on Nanyang lu, near Xikang lu behind the Portman Ritz-Carlton.  Live music every Friday and Saturday from 7-10pm.

Here’s the entire schedule of Burnett’s clinics and performances:

March 23, 2008, 2:00pm: Jazz Piano Master Class at JZ School, 270 Wuyuan rd near Yongfu rd. Admission: free (but call 5403 6475 to reserve a seat beforehand)

March 24, 2008 10:00pm: JZ Club. Burnett Thompson, Pianist; EJ Parker, Bassist; Chris Trzcinski, Drums. Performing original works from the “Creation Jazz Suite” and the “Planet Suite”. Admission: free

March 30, 2008, 1300h Jazz Piano Master Class at JZ School, 270 Wuyuan rd near Yongfu rd. Admission: free (but call 5403 6475 to reserve a seat beforehand)

I got to check out part of jazz pianist Burnett Thompson‘s show last night at JZ Club, a trio night of fun standards that he played with EJ Parker and Chris Trczinski.  He also invited Coco Zhao to join the group for a couple of tunes from Coco’s album that the two of them had played together when Coco was in Washington D.C. last summer.  It was a nice couple of sets, and it was good to hear him again since the last time he was here.

I missed the beginning jazz piano workshop he gave over at the JZ School last Saturday, but he’ll give one more next weekend that I’ll try and hit–and you should too if you missed this last one too.  It’s free and I heard good things about it from some of the people who did attend.  Apparently in his master classes he uses drum equipment to get everyone involved continuously throughout the workshop, whether it’s on piano or drums or other stuff.  Sounds like lots of fun.

Next weekend’s free master class takes place on Sunday, January 27 from 2:00-3:30pm.

Similar to last time he was here, he’ll also be collaborating again in a performance with erhu soloist Ma Xiaohui and clarinetist Kiera Thompson on Jan 26, 2008 2:00 p.m. at the Oriental Arts Center in Pudong.

So have a listen–we program three hours a day, and the three hours stream live online at the same time it is broadcast on FM 99.6 in Hangzhou (9am to 12 noon Beijing time).  Then, for the rest of the day the three hours play in a continuous loop streaming through the website until the next day’s programs begin.

The program, all in Chinese, is a mix of talk radio and good music (mostly jazz, but with a sprinkling of other interesting stuff) that focuses on the finer things in life, including music itself.  As you might have guessed, I’m involved with the music end of things there.  Give me a shout if you want to know more about it.

For those of you who don’t know who Marsha is, she is illustrious Shanghai jazz guitarist Lawrence Ku’s cousin.  Or, to the rest of the (non-Shanghai jazz scene) world, she is a pretty well-known up-and-coming Hong Kong actress, singer, and model.  Her mom is a famous actress, Cheng Pei-Pei, who I know as the evil witch character from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.  No longer based in Hong Kong as of this last year, however, Marsha’s living on the mainland now, as I guess Shanghai holds more potential for her continued career development.  She’s also started teaching voice and dance at the JZ School.

Sign up now or get more information by calling Erica at the JZ School, at 5403-6475.??  Sign up a friend to get a 10% discount on your own tuition!

This first week of the JazzArt concert series will feature the Lawrence Ku Septet playing at the TwoCities Gallery at M50 on Moganshan lu. The septet, which performs quite rarely, is playing quite a few times this month in fact. This is partly because trombonist Andy Hunter is in town through the end of the month, and there aren’t really any other good jazz trombonists in Shanghai. Besides the Jazzy Shanghai festival performance last week and this weekend’s JazzArt concert, the group will also play a CD release party on the 24th (and the Beijing jazz festival at the end of the month). Of course, the imminent release of the album is the other main reason for the increased performance frequency.

The concept behind the JazzArt series is to bring the various types of artistic communities in Shanghai together, as they are quite separate at present; the worlds of visual art and jazz music rarely cross. So this set of 6 concerts is intended to give the two communities a chance once a month to explore and enjoy each other’s artistic worlds. I, for one, am always happy to go to art galleries but I don’t get enough opportunities to, so am looking forward to checking out some new galleries and some new exhibitions at the familiar places. The concerts will be held on the afternoon of the second Sunday of each month, and each show will feature a different group playing a different kind of jazz at a different gallery.

TwoCities has already hosted quite a few jazz concerts in the relatively short time it’s been around, so it is a logical starting point for the series. Among concerts held there already, of note is pianist Steve Sweeting’s duet series “TwoCities in tune”, a set of ongoing concerts that feature a different vocalist accompanied by Steve each time. And unlike a typical concert, Steve always inserts a few bits of fun to lighten the atmosphere and get the singer’s creative juices flowing.

Some other galleries that will host later concerts in the series are number D, MOCA, and ifa village.