Just a quick update on what’s happening in the coming few weeks here in town. Once again, the Speakeasy party will be tonight (April 11) featuring Five Below with Marta Taylor on vocals at JG Bar, Jean George in 3 on the Bund, 4F with music from 11pm-2am. Free entry. This party, currently held every second Friday, is turning into a great hang with more and more people dressing up in the 20s garb to fit into the speakeasy atmosphere each time. With legendary barman Markus Bernthaler and his staff of bartenders serving up some great drinks, it makes for a fine evening.
This Sunday, April 13, will be the first performance in the JZ Jazz Concert Series at the Oriental Arts Center in Pudong. This monthly series will take place on the second Sunday of each month, and will feature some locally-based acts and some foreign greats. The concert this month will be the Frank Harrison Trio featuring Poet RD Pennant from the UK. More details here.
At JZ Club on April 21 will be a performance by Chinese-born American jazz vocalist Xu Bei, who has become popular especially in Japan, where she is signed to Universal Music. This is a CD release concert. Not sure if there will be a cover charge, but I’m guessing there will be, usually around 50 RMB.
Coming up later in the month, we have a number of performances by the fantastic Danish Brazilian jazz group Mais Uma around town. Their schedule will see them performing on April 17, 23, 27, and 29 at JZ Club, as well as at at JG bar for the month’s second Speakeasy party on April 25, plus a night at each of the three Melting Pot clubs in town. At the Taikang lu Melting Pot they play April 24, at Hengshan lu Melting Pot on April 18, and at the pudong branch on April 19. Free entry.
At the end of the month, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the piano and cello duo Brubeck Braid will be gracing Shanghai with some exquisite music before they head to Beijing for some more performances. They will perform in Shanghai at twocities gallery on April 26 and at the Glamour Bar on April 27. Both are 50 RMB.
To recap, here’s the whole schedule:
Tonight, 11pm-2am at JG Bar, free, 3 on the bund, 3 Zhongshan yi lu – Speakeasy Party featuring Five Below
April 13, 3pm at Oriental Arts Center in Pudong, 100-200RMB – Frank Harrison Trio
April 17, 23, 27 and 29, 10pm at JZ Club, free, 46 Fuxing xi lu – Mais Uma
April 21 at JZ Club, possible cover charge – Xu Bei
April 26, 7:30pm at twocities gallery, M50, 50 Moganshan lu bldg 0, 50RMB – Brubeck Braid
April 27, 4pm at Glamour Bar, 20 Guangdong lu 7F, 50RMB – Brubeck Braid
Well, as 
Steve Sweeting knows how to bring creativity out of vocalists. Having worked with a number of local singers in Shanghai since he moved out here almost two years ago, he has produced a number of concerts and even a few albums already with many of Shanghai’s best singers. His popular ongoing vocal-piano duo concert series at