TAIWAN/USA: Mavis Pan-Set For Love(2019)

 A native of Taiwan, Mavis Pan has performed her original works (orchestral, choral, jazz, chamber music, solo instrumental, vocal) throughout the United States, Europe, Middle East, and Asia. She composes and performs fluently in both classical and jazz styles and holds a B.M. in Jazz Piano Performance from New York University, M.A. in Music from Columbia University, M.A. in Urban Theology from Westminster Theological Seminary, and M.M. in Music Composition from Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music.

 Pan’s choral work, "A Christmas Carol," was recorded by the Kiev Philharmonic under the ERM label. Following the release of her debut jazz album On My Way Home in 2010 she spent a year in Shanghai, China where she performed and served as a piano instructor and translator for the renowned Chinese Jazz Intensive Music Camp. Her second solo piano album,Not Alone, was released in December of 2016 and was distributed within the US and China.

On her latest album, Set For Love, Pan collaborated with lyricist David Keyes and Grammy Award-winning drummer and producer Ulysses Owens, Jr. The recording explores love in many contexts including head-over-heels love, love in trouble, love anticipated, and love remembered. Each song was born of a lifetime of experience, a 12-year collaboration, and a moment of inspiration. Each track has been created by a loving family of musicians, coaches, engineers, and producer. This concept album completes a cycle of jazz styles including ballad, blues, bolero, bossa, samba, swing, tango, and waltz, all on the world's most timeless theme. Set For Love is scheduled for a May 2019 release; singles are currently available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and other leading music distributors.

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TAIWAN: Jay Hung-110 West(2018)

About 110 West Album:

This is a Jazz album for all listeners to enjoy. It contains some pop into jazz, yet the music does not lose the technique and grooving of jazz.

Many people say jazz is difficult to understand. Why pop music is such a popular genre of music? It is because of its simplicity. It does not have lot of complicated chords, and listeners can easily recognize the melody. On the other hand, jazz music has more depth in technique and chord progressions which can be complicated.

This album uses several Poly Chords, which are often used in European EDM and less used in pop or jazz. Many harmonic elements and grooving are being used in the track “Banana”. Track of “Nostalgic Memory” is a cover of a legendary Taiwanese 1950’s song that has many years of history. It combines Bebop Style and Pentatonic that completely break away the image of traditional style into a whole new perspective.

This album has Jazz / Smooth Jazz / Funk style.
I hope you will enjoy.

About Jay Hung:

- Sought-after keyboard player in Asian pop music industry.
- Graduated in Hollywood, Los Angeles in the Musicians Institute Kit Professional in 1998.
- Educated under Steve Weingart, Carl Schordel, and Rique Pantoja.
- Expertise: Piano / Keyboard/ Music Arranger/ Band Leader /Music Director
- Favorite Music Genres: FUNK／JAZZ／FUSION／POP

Born in Taiwan in 1971, Jay Hung was touched by the sound of the keyboard as a child. He eventually self-studied music on his own. Although his traditional family did not support the boy to learn music, Jay did not give up on his love for music.
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In 1996, Jay left Taiwan to Hollywood, Los Angeles for further music education at Musicians Institute (KIT). There he learned Jazz / Funk / Rock and other music elements. He studied under the guidance of great master Steve Weingart and Rique Pantoja; however, their teaching was strict and never taken lightly. After he returned to Taiwan in 2000, he began to work in the professional Asian pop music industry.
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Since 2000 - 2017 Jay has done more than 500 concerts, mostly for Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Chinese top famous artists. His position in the concert is usually Band Leader, Music Director, or Keyboard Player. He also played keyboard in many TV shows in China, including "Chinese Idol". In addition, Jay has arranged more than 300 pop music in Asia.
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With the 17 years of professional music experience, Jay feels he now has a strong heart to complete his own creative album.

East meets West- Chinese Beauty Emma Lin debut album ' Amazing Zheng'

Modern sounds of ancient instrument Guzheng, Emma Lin brings original acoustic sounds blends with Electro, Drum ensemble and other exotic elements to new listening experience.

Amazing Zheng contain a very unique combination of playing, compositions and arrangements; the various techniques and styles explore on the guzheng are enjoyable. From “The Dragon Heart;” outstanding feel with nice phrasing of the melody to ' String Dance' DJ hot beat on the dance floor, ' Miss Modern Shanghai' reveals beautiful retro chinese opera singing mix chill urban groove, ' Midnight Devil' 'awake inner rock soul in the blood to ' Oriental Dream' brings ears to fareast oasis.

Grew up in Taiwan and later on receives education in UK and US, Emma receives systematic music education since age 6 begins with piano and later on learn Guzheng at 8. Emma enjoys collaborating with different artists and regard music as a global conversation and cultural exchange. Her vision is to bring Chinese music into mainstream and world music scene, presenting a message of humanity, beauty and New-Age outlook.

Support Emma now at :
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/zheng-cai-amazing-zheng/id894879855
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/emmalin2

Starts your imaginary music journey now !

website: http://emmalinmusic.com

Stacey Kent - Dreamer in Concert (2011)

Taiwanese pressing. After 8 studio albums, Dreamer In Concert is the first album that captures Stacey's magical onstage persona. From the stage of La Cigale, she delivers fresh interpretations of some of the most emblematic songs in her repertoire, including the standards of the Great American Songbook, The Best Is Yet To Come, They Can't Take That Away From Me, It Might As Well Be Spring and others. She also revisits the classic French songs, Ces Petits Riens, Samba Saravah and Jardin d'Hiver. The repertoire also includes 4 previously unrecorded selections; 2 from Ant"nio Carlos Jobim, Waters of March and Dreamer, and 2 new compositions by her husband, saxophonist and the album's producer, Jim Tomlinson; Postcard Lovers, with lyrics by the novelist, Kazuo Ishiguro (author of Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go) and O Comboio, penned by the Portuguese poet, Antonio Ladeira, which Stacey sings, beautifully, in Portuguese. Indeed so sublimely does she sing in Portuguese, that Kent, who is fast becoming a major star in Brazil, is one of just two American artists (the other is James Taylor) invited to perform at the 80th birthday celebrations of Rio's world famous landmark, Cristo O Redentor, on October 12th when over a million people will gather on Copacabana Beach.

TAIWAN: Canadian guitarist Denis Chang performs gypsy jazz in Taipei next week.

The 29-year-old Montreal native, who performs on Thursday and Friday next week in Taipei with the local group Dark Eyes Gypsy Jazz Band, is regarded as an established talent in gypsy jazz circles.

Since 2003, Chang has been shuttling back and forth between Canada and Europe, attending festivals devoted to the genre and studying with well-known gypsy players such as Fapy Lafertin of Belgium and Ritary Gaguenetti of France. He has also shared the stage with other acclaimed musicians such as French virtuoso Stephane Wrembel and the Dutch gypsy group the Rosenberg Trio.

Chang has a degree in music from McGill University, but says his most valuable lessons as a performer came from befriending gypsy players in Europe.
(Read more at Taipei Times)

TAIWAN: Taichung Mayor Hu sets big target for jazz festival

TAIPEI--Taichung Mayor Jason Hu said yesterday that the city's jazz festival, now in its ninth year, has become a major music festival in Asia, and he expressed hope that it will attract 1 million people next year.

Hu said that in the initial years of the festival, a lack of funding and performers meant that the city had to call agents in Thailand, Japan and South Korea to seek bands willing to travel to Taichung to perform.
Over the ensuing years, however, the festival has gained in popularity through word of mouth, Hu said, noting that he expects it to attract up to 800,000 people this year, up from last year's 750,000.
“Today, the situation has turned around, with bands from Tokyo, Bangkok and Seoul calling to express interest in playing in the festival,” the mayor said.
Other famed lineups include the Charles Tolliver Band and the Sirius Quartet, as well as Scene of Jazz from Japan, Koh Mr. Saxman from Thailand and outfits from Malaysia, Shanghai, South Korea and Hong Kong.
China Post

Terence Blanchard Quintet in Taiwan

The National Concert Hall’s summer jazz season continues with performances tonight and tomorrow from two highly accomplished American artists.
Trumpeter Terence Blanchard and his quintet take to the stage tonight. The New Orleans native entered the scene in the early 1980s, and served stints in the bands of jazz masters Art Blakey and Lionel Hampton.
Blanchard, 49, has since moved on to become one of the most recognized musicians of his generation, with a long list of composer credits and several Grammys.
His hard bop style of playing was featured on McCoy Tyner’s Illuminations (2005), which won a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental album. Blanchard and his quintet also earned a Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album Grammy for their 2007 album A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina), which included pieces heard in Spike Lee’s 2006 documentary on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Blanchard, also known as a prolific film composer with more than 50 movie scores under his belt, is a longtime collaborator of Lee’s. He composed the soundtracks for the director’s early 1990s films Jungle Fever and Malcolm X, as well as the 2006 box office hit Inside Man.
For tonight’s show, he will be joined by Brice Winston on saxophone, Fabian Almazan on piano, Joshua Crumbly on bass and Kendrick Scott on drums.
Tomorrow’s concert shifts from Blanchard’s sophisticated, African fusion-influenced bop sound to down-home gospel blues, funk and soul by pianist Ramsey Lewis and his quintet.
Lewis, 76, has a gospel and classical background that has deeply influenced his sound today, a combination of virtuosic piano playing, danceable grooves and soul.

The Chicago native made his initial mark on the jazz world in the 1960s with soul jazz albums such as The In Crowd and the song Hold It Right There, both of which earned him Grammy awards.
He dipped into jazz fusion in the 1970s, switching to electric piano for his hit album Sun Goddess (1974), which reunited him with a former bandmate, singer Maurice White of jazz fusion and disco group Earth, Wind & Fire.
In 2007, Lewis received a Jazz Master Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest official recognition for jazz musicians in the US. He will be joined on stage tomorrow by guitarist Henry Johnson, keyboardist Tim Gant, bassist Joshua Ramos and drummer Charles Heath.
The National Concert Hall’s jazz program concludes on Sept. 9 with a concert by jazz fusion/smooth jazz group Yellowjackets. For more details on the program and artists, visit event.ntch.edu.tw/2011/jazz.

Performance Notes
What and When: The Terence Blanchard Quintet tonight at 7:30pm, and the Ramsey Lewis Quintet tomorrow at 7:30pm
Where: National Concert Hall, 21-1 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei City
Admission: From NT$1,200 to NT$2,500, tickets available at the venue, NTCH ticketing outlets or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
On The Net: event.ntch.edu.tw/2011/jazz/, www.terenceblanchard.com, www.ramseylewis.com

The Taipei Times

Free jazz concerts to light up Taipei

Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) Jazz artists from home and abroad, including famed trumpeter Michael Mossman and saxophonist Antonio Hart, will gather in Taipei Aug. 19-20 to stage two free outdoor jazz concerts.

Launched in 2009 by the National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center, the free concerts are aimed at attracting more people to enjoy the quintessential American music form and further cultivate local young jazz talent.

In addition to the free performances, the center has organized a week-long masterclass during which students will learn to hone their skills with top jazz musicians, including both Mossman and Hart, along with Stacey Wei, a local trumpeter and music educator. The students, divided into two groups, will have their moments and perform in the free concert Aug. 20.

A musician who travels the world extensively, Mossman said before a rehearsal Tuesday that he sees things happening here on the music scene that are developing fast. He described Taiwan as "a real center for music" and said that "there is a high level of musical talent."

Hart, who is visiting Taiwan for the second time, said Taiwanese people are the nicest he's met in his life. "Living in New York for a very long time, sometimes you become skeptical about people's intentions. People here are soulful, and students are very respectful," he said.

On Aug. 19, a quintet led by Taiwanese musician Huang Jui-feng, Singaporean singer Olivia Ong's jazz trio, and a Japanese quartet led by Yano Saori will perform. The following night will see a further six acts take the stage. (By Hermia Lin) ENDITEM/J

SOURCE: focustaiwan

World-famous jazz players thrill Taiwan audiences

A group of 11 world-renowned jazz musicians will give free performances at the Da-An Forest Park in Taipei City July 22 and 23, according to the Taipei City Government.

“This is a great opportunity for locals to get up close and personal with these outstanding jazz musicians and enjoy their performances filled with innovative improvisation,” said Hsieh Hsiao-yun, commissioner of the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

The event, as the concluding activity of the 2011 Taipei International Jazz Season, incorporates two lively carnivals and two performances.
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