5th JazzArt concert this Sunday at MOCA

The next JazzArt concert is upon us once again! And this time, featured will be the JQ Whitcomb sextet, playing original compositions and fun music from their regular Thursday repertoire as well. It is the first of a whole slew of great concerts and jazz performances happening this month, many of which haven't made it into the magazine listings. So expect to see more news right here over the coming days reporting on them.

JazzArt, as you might have heard, is a monthly jazz concert series held at a different gallery each month. They have become our favorite regular jazz event, not just because we happen to be involved with the planning and implementation but also because art galleries are fantastic places for jazz concerts in general. Also people who show up to these kind of concerts tend to really listen to the music, whereas in smoky bars at night many people come to chat, or conspicuously consume pricy bottles of booze, perhaps giving the occasional nod toward the music in the background when it happens to catch their attention. The JazzArt series has been wildly successful, much to the chagrin of the evil gallery owners who pulled out at the last minute of planning early this year. Drawing an estimated 250 people to last month's show, at least 300 people are expected to pack this month's concert on the 3rd floor of MOCA to the brim. So get there early in order to get a seat, as there will only be about 100 chairs.

The show starts at 3pm, and is on Sunday, September 9 at MOCA- the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, located at People's Square, 231 W. Nanjing Rd. (People's Park gate 7). The concert will be held in the 3rd floor restaurant, so when you come in and they ask you for admission just tell them you're there for the jazz concert and they'll let you in free.

The sextet will feature most of the members of the regular sextet, including Lawrence Ku on guitar, Alec Haavik on sax, EJ Parker on bass, and the most recent addition Huang Jianyi. Lao Huang will be playing the Fender Rhodes he bought in the States before he moved back to Shanghai this spring...it sounds pristine! Since regular drummer Chris just left town for what will be a rather long chunk of time, replacing him for this Sunday's concert will be Nicholas McBride on the drums.

In other news about the sextet's regular Thursday shows at JZ Club, the next two Thursdays will see the band joined by Beijing drummer Xiao Dou, who has been swinging up a storm recently. After Xiao Dou heads back up to Beijing, Nicholas will take over the reins for the following weeks.

Sunday, September 9 at MOCA- the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, located at People's Square, 231 W. Nanjing Rd. (People's Park gate 7) 南京西路231号