Wednesday September 17 Spend the evening at J-G Bar, where Wednesday will be celebrated in high style with a Champange Night. Half price for champagne cocktails and no cover charge. At: 4/F, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu, 广东路17号, 近中山东一路, 4楼. Thursday 18 September Celebrate Chile's national day at Mural, where live music and tequila for RMB 10 will bring out our inner Chilean. 697 Yongjia Lu, near Hengshan Lu,永嘉路697号，近衡山路 Friday 19 September......

These three fantastic jazz vocalists will do a unique performance this Saturday night at a venue we haven't been to yet, called Lounge 18 (18 on the bund, 4F, 18 Zhongshan Dong Lu, near Nanjing Lu). Coco says it's a fantastic space, which means it should be perfect for the magical evening the group has planned for Saturday. Joining the three singers will be Tinho Pereira, the extraordinary Brazilian bass player who joined Coco and......

Friday 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......

Is there anything that won't work in China? This latest video from Arnaud Kamphuis of Daedalum Films explores Shanghai's growing jazz scene and China's exploding demand for jazz. Interesting was the refrain echoed by several of the foreign musicians interviewed that there was no way they could be doing the same thing back home without having to do music that they can't stand. Here, they're in a position to select gigs, travel lots for......

In March we introduced you to the "mother" of Chinese opera, Kunqu. This weekend Shanghai residents will have a chance to see if this ancient performing art can be transformed into something — how shall we put it — easier on the ears by blending in a touch of Jazz. Jeffrey Zhang, sometimes referred to as the "Prince of Kunqu Opera," will sing excerpts from classics such as "The Peony Pavilion," "The Story of the......

Work began Tuesday on a high-speed rail line from Shanghai to neighboring Nanjing, creating an even stronger link between the two economic powerhouses. Authorities say travel time, currently two hours, will be cut in half and that the line will be open by July of 2010, just in time for the World Expo. Seem to good to be true? Marc van der Chijs certainly thinks so, pointing out that a vehicle with a maximum speed......

These concerts keep getting better and better. The twocities in tune concerts have traditionally featured Steve Sweeting on piano joined by a vocalist, and the last one we heard with Jasmine Chen on vocals was off the hook. This time, Steve is going all-out and bringing in bass and drums to join him and vocalist Coco Zhao to make the final concert in the spring series a show-stopper. Playing bass will be Scott Dodd and......

They're not coming to play together, but rather in two separate shows happening this week. Swiss trumpeter Erik Truffaz is performing Thursday (tomorrow) at JZ Club with his band, and Saturday is Mike Stern's show. Each of them are bringing a quartet, ostensibly touring to promote new albums. Mike Stern's quartet consists of Bob Franceschini, Lincoln Goines, Lionel Cordew. Erik Truffaz is bringing Marcello Giuliani, Marc Erbetta, and Patrick Muller in his band. Both of......

In fact TTing has already been open for nearly four months, but has yet to do a formal grand opening. Like any fledgling business in Shanghai, it's their first year so they're still struggling, but slowly the place is building a following — not just for the jazz-pop band performing in the main room but also for the pool tables and VIP nightclub vibe happening downstairs. In fact Shanghaiist went in a few weeks ago......

Since we didn't make it to Saturday's show at twocities, we 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......

Our 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. We 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......

Well, as we reported a while back, the word on the street was that the live music was going to stop completely at the Blues Room (that is, until they told us it was only a temporary hiatus). Fortunately, that has proven untrue, with a new band playing three nights a week. The new group playing there, headed by Willow Neilson, features various musicians and vocalists on different nights. The core group, however, includes Erica......

A new wine bar in Hongqiao called Vino Venue will start featuring live jazz with a special event happening this Saturday. Montreal-based vocalist Athesia (pictured) will perform a set of original music at the intimate venue, and the show is part of a package that includes dinner and a wine card. Not exactly sure how the wine card works, but it's worth 388 RMB by itself so it must get you a selection to taste.......

Shanghaiist got to go check out the new location of the House of Blues and Jazz the other day on Fuzhou Lu just near the Bund, right across the street from the Captain Hostel. It looks like the new space is going to resolve all the issues the last place had while also adding a few nice new features to the entire package. The entire space is quite large, as they're planning to use......

We know he's meant to be quite a bit more brilliant in concert than we saw the other night, but it seems as though a few things conspired to make Harry Connick's Shanghai show this past Sunday less great than it really should have been. For one, the role that the rest of the band played was way too small — it seems that we heard more from Bjork's brass section the week before! And......

A last-minute add to the program over at JZ, the Copenhagen-based group called Jazz Kamikaze who have been getting rave reviews will be playing this thursday night at JZ Club. In fact, when Shanghaiist was in Copenhagen last February, we didn't hear the band but got to jam a bit with some of the players in it. They were great, very creative and vibrant musicians. And killer players! So we're expecting a great show from......

Not that free jazz hasn't landed plenty of times already here in Shanghai, in fact all too often jazz bands that come through town are a bit too "free" for most audiences. But such is the nature of that beast called free jazz...it's certainly not for everyone. But in any case now it has begun to have its own regular performance by a locally-based group, so those of you who do like this unique musical......

Is the Blues Room going to change its entire concept because they've decided this live music stuff doesn't make enough money? Or maybe they have other ideas about how to go about it. We don't know what the place has in mind, but what is confirmed is that they are cutting off drummer and bandleader Al Gordon and organist Bill Heid's performance contract a few months earlier than they were originally signed up for, which......

Alcohol companies (especially in Shanghai) are known for their lemming like approach to parties (maybe it is the incestuous nature of their cliques). The latest trend is in throwing expensive "invite only" parties like the Hennessy Artistry series and this weekend’s upcoming Smirnoff party featuring Hard-Fi and DJ Sasha (gag). Just like at the Hennessey party, we loser expats aren't overly welcome (at more than one of these parties we have been told that our......

BLUES ROOM GRAND OPENING: Tonight (Wednesday Dec 12TH), 8-11pm, FREE vodka cocktails and snacks. Live jazz. Be there! RUBY RED WHITE BORDEAUX TASTING: Something special for wine aficionados this Friday (Dec 14th, 7.30pm): Ruby Red is holding a tasting of 6 Bordeaux white wines - 3 dry whites and 3 Sauternes, including Chateau D'Yquem and Lafaurie Peyrageuy!! A fantastic opportunity to taste these famous wines. Given the wine quality to be offered, the cost is......

It's criminal to live so close to the fantastic JZ Club and actually get to the place as infrequently as we do, but we're determined to mend our recidivistic ways after spending a thoroughly spot-on Sunday afternoon there this weekend. There are few other places you can just blunder into from the street and, without spending a groat (though yesterday the Guinness proved too much of a draw) to be blown away by some great......

Yet another weekend has arrived, and seems a lot of people have been talking about the opening of the Shelter. They are holding a 'soft opening' tonight and hosting Dex, from the Underground Resistance, tomorrow. For those of you who are in the mood for more of a visual than some dude spinning on the decks (or laptop), there are plenty of live shows to choose from. Just down the street from the Shelter are......

Lots of news from the House of Blues and Jazz in Shanghai: The latest band featured there wraps up their final few weeks at this revered and relatively long-lived jazz venue; also the club gets ready to move to its new digs over at the bund. Theo Croker and band The current band at the House of Blues and Jazz has been there already for many weeks, and they're doing great. It's a dynamic group......

This Friday night will see the return of jazz quintet Five Below to the Bund. However it is not to the old digs where the band's name originally came from, but this time to Jean Georges, the bar and restaurant on the 4th floor of Three on the Bund. Their newly renovated bar will be hosting the event, with entry passwords costing 200 RMB. Of course, each person has to buy their own password.......

Well, this weekend there might not be a 1234 Beach Rock Festival, but that is no reason to stay home, curled up with a blankie, crying about what might have been. Live Bar out in Yangpu has shows going every night, showcasing emerging underground acts from Shanghai and Beijing. Friday night, Yuyintang will be hosting big hair, metal band Arch Enemy from Sweden. Apparently this is a pretty well known European metal band, and after......

Kitchen fetishists, we know you're out there: For those of you who enjoy cooking at home, now you can add sexy cookware to your kitchen arsenal. Pantry Magic, which calls itself Asia's favorite place for specialty kitchen supply, is opening their first store in Shanghai in the middle of this month. From their press release: Pantry Magic carries a complete product line of more than 2,000 items from pots and pans to brightly colored mixing......

Even though today might be Friday, for many of us it isn't the start of the weekend. With the upcoming National Day vacation period approaching, many people are stuck in their offices over the weekend to make up for the extended break. This has carried over into the live music scene, with only a few note worthy shows before the craziness that starts next week. The Jazz it Up week of music continues with a......

For anyone still looking for something to do tonight (Thursday) a couple of options have poked their heads up in the nic' of time. Banana Monkey and Hard Queen, two good local bands are putting on a free concert at 4Live tonight, with things getting started at 8:30pm. After that head to the Antidote party out a C's where the music is always good and the drink freakin' cheap. If funk and jazz fusion is......

The latest news from the former Fuxing Jazz Festival is that it is going to take place up in Jing'an district at the New Factories on Yuyao Lu (余姚路), and will be called the JZ Festival (爵士同乐 in Chinese). It will feature many of Shanghai's locally-based jazz groups including Coco and his band Possicobilities, Alec Haavik's Friction Five, and the JZ All-star big band. Also featured will be major Chinese rock stars Cui Jian and......

September is quickly sliding into history, which means for all us music fans that the orgy of music festivals Shanghai will experience in the first weeks of October is almost upon us. And of course Shanghaiist is here to bring you the latest in festival news..... The 1234 Beach Rock Festival - A scrappy fighter always getting knocked down but never going out for the count (did that make sense?). Postponed once again, it is......