shanghai jazz scene .com

Last night was the first of five nights of racy burlesque performances by the Atomic Bombshells at the Glamour Bar.  It was the perfect cure for those “boring Olympic opening ceremony blues”, at least until China’s own Olympic team paraded onto the screen–at which point nothing could draw the crowd’s attention away from the big screen.  Luckily that won’t be an issue for the remaining 4 nights of shows.

The first three nights (including tonight and tomorrow night) also feature live jazz from the Magnificent Seven to accompany the busty entertainers in their wild and humorous performance. The Atomic Bombshells are a Seattle-based group of gorgeous performers who wow the audience with their 1940s-style dance/strip-tease show, aided of course by a well-dressed and handsome male MC. The choreography is pristine, the band is swinging, and the Bombshells are HOT!  Above is a video of bombshell Kitten LaRue in a performance this last April in Seattle.

The burlesque shows will continue on Monday and Tuesday night without the live band.

Glamour Bar: 5 on the bund, 6F (number 20 Guangdong rd.)  Reserve a table at 6350-9988 or reservations@m-theglamourbar.com.  No cover, performance begins at 10:30pm

I’ve just returned from a fantastic trip to Yunnan, and decided I really have to bring a band out there for a bit of a Southwest China tour. It’s too nice a place to be not to go more. However, the perennial problem when leaving town is, of course, keeping you up to date on what’s going on here on the jazz scene. Once again I’ve gotten slightly behind in that front, but hopefully you’ll catch this post in time to get down to Glamour tonight for Norwegian jazz band The Core. They played last night there already, and will do again tonight for their last show here in Shanghai.

I’ve listened to sound samples from their website, and the music is all impressive. Definite references to Coltrane (they’re definitely channeling the second quartet in the tune I’m listening to now) but not in a copycat way, but rather in an energetic way, which I have a feeling is going to make their live show amazing.

RMB 50
Wed May 7, 9pm
Glamour Bar: 5 on the Bund, 6F
(021) 6350 9988, 6329 3751

Since I didn’t make it to last night’s show at twocities, I made a special effort to go hear the Canadian piano-cello duo this afternoon at Glamour Bar, and enjoyed it.  The two players are both quite virtuosic on their respective axes, not to mention well versed in both the classical and jazz realms.  And though there were plenty of jazz and classical influences present in the music, most of it was generally unclassifiable, eclectic melanges of various world rhythms and tonalities.  Overall lots of fun…it made me think how (even more) exciting it would be to hear the two leading a larger ensemble playing the same music.

The two mainly performed pieces from their album twotet/deuxtet including Wash Away (inspired by a dream in which Chopin meets Ray Charles), Huevos Verdes Y Jamon (a springy tune with a Latin feel featuring percussive cello playing), Sniffinâ?? Around, and Spirit Dance.

One listener I interviewed felt that Matt Brubeck (who is actually American, but is now based in Toronto) had an uncanny resemblance to Samuel Beckett.  However it is unverifiable currently due to the lack of pictures online of Beckett in his youth.

My bad for not publishing this earlier, but tonight at the twocities gallery there will be an amazing show by the piano-cello duet of David Braid and Matt Brubeck. If you can’t make it tonight, there’s still hope as they play tomorrow afternoon at the Glamour Bar. I think both rooms are going to be perfect for this duo, each usually have an intimate quiet setting focused on the music. Of course the Glamour Bar is a bar, but since they are playing at 4pm as a special concert, it should be much more music-focused than that room usually is later in the evening.

Shanghai

Saturday, April 26, 7:30pm
Twocities Gallery
M50, 50 Moganshan Rd bldg O, 2F
(021) 5252 1518
RMB50

Sunday, April 27, 4pm
Incidental Sunday at Glamour Bar
5 on the Bund, 6F - entrance at 20 Guangdong Rd
(021) 6350 9988, 6329 3751
RMB50