Archive for the ‘musicians’ life’ Category

“More than jazz”, new TV series on ICS

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

Hosted by Lawrence Ku, this show will be featuring all the big names on Shanghai’s jazz scene as it explores everything jazz in this bustling city, and more. I’m not sure what more they could possibly talk about without getting away from the topic of jazz, so I’ll be watching the show to find out. It airs every Sunday night at 8pm on Shanghai’s new International Channel, the second channel to run in English language on Chinese public television (though it will also have Japanese language programming), and started January 1, 2008.

I’ll be on the show myself at some point as well, as I just spent this afternoon getting interviewed about my musical experience, background, and inspiration over at the JZ School. All I can say is, I’m not very eloquent when speaking out loud…I just hope they have really good editors to take out all the “um”s and “ah”s. They also interviewed Theo Croker, so I imagine he’ll get featured on the show as well.

Happy Holidays!

Tuesday, December 25th, 2007

Well I’ll once again apologize for the recent very slow period in this blog, as happens periodically.  I’m writing from Santa Fe, NM where I’m spending the holidays with family and friends, and just want to let you know that the Shanghai Jazz Scene lives on and will start the new year with redoubled efforts and some guest writers.  My life has been busier than ever this past fall, and I haven’t done the scene justice with how little has been written here.  I missed some pretty legendary events on the scene this fall, like when Beyonce’s band came to JZ Club and rocked the house till dawn with everybody together.  So it’s about time I invited some more people to contribute to the SJS blog.  So expect some better coverage and other changes in the new year.  Until then, all the best to you!

It’s Music Expo time again in Shanghai!

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

Every year at some point in autumn, to the delight of Shanghai’s local musicians, a gargantuan 4-day music exhibition arrives at Pudong’s expo center.  Called simply “prolight and sound”, the music expo features 12,000 square meters of exhibition space and expects to attract at least 12,000 visitors this year.  Instrument manufacturers from around China all show up, as well as international makers and dealers of instruments.  Every kind of instrument is represented, from classical Chinese instruments to multi-colored trumpets, and everything that goes with music as well like instrument cases, stands, sheet music, electronic music gear of every possible kind, sound systems, lighting systems, and on and on.  The expo is open to the public, at least the times that I’ve gone it always has been; and on the last day of the expo it’s possible to get some great bargains on instruments (as it means that it’s one more instrument they don’t have to cart back home) and other equipment.  So if you’ve been holding out to buy a new instrument, check it out on the last day and you might get lucky and find just what you need for a great price.  It starts tomorrow and runs through Saturday (Oct 17-20) and is held at the new expo center in Pudong.  More information on the Prolight and sound website.

Final JazzArt concert of 2007 another immense success

Monday, October 15th, 2007

The sixth and final concert in the 2007 JazzArt concert series put together by the JZ School featured Coco Zhao and his Possicobilities band yesterday afternoon at ifa village, a huge gallery at M50 on Moganshan lu. I thought the space, which is quite large and very concrete, would make the sound echo way too much; however, when it filled up with people it actually sounded pretty balanced. Only when the band got to their very loudest parts did it all sort of wash into each other and create a rumbling mass of sound. But that was kind of cool, too.

Unfortunately, I was halfway to the concert before it occurred to me I should bring my camera. So I don’t have any pictures of the event myself, but I saw a few people snapping shots with cameras much nicer than mine anyway, so there should be a few popping up on the JZ School website within the next couple days. Also, another blogger posted their own set of pictures from the event as well, so you can check them out too.

I probably say this after every one of these concerts, but the JazzArt shows are always my favorite concerts in town. The vibe is always so nice in these great galleries to begin with, and then to have people show up who just want to listen to some excellent jazz on a Sunday afternoon makes it so special. Not to mention exceptional wine, and all for free! It all really conspires to create an atmosphere of utmost creativity for the musicians, so they really put their soul into it. It’s sad to know that they won’t continue every month, but at least next year will see the series start up again anew. It gives us something to look forward to next spring.