Results tagged “jazzclub”

One of Shanghai's greatest vocalists will be moving away for good, we are sorry to say. Arlene has been here about as long as your correspondent, over 4 years, and we've worked together a lot. She's a great singer and she'll do well wherever she ends up (first she's going to Dubai to play with jazz pianist Billy Marcus, who used to play in Shanghai at the Portman jazz bar, and then she's moving to Vietnam!). Next Monday, she will be celebrating her time here with a final performance at the JZ Club, and she hopes you all can join her for this festive occasion! It promises to be a lot of fun, as she will also be releasing her first CD that night, which she recorded in Shanghai earlier this year.

These are definitely the dog days of summer and as in summers past, live shows have dried up with the heat. Ironically enough Shanghaiist has chosen to skip town and head to even hotter Hong Kong where PK-14, Hedge Hog, New Pants and the Re-tros will be playing in the cramped but intimate Fringe Club on Sunday.

Critics have ladled some lavish praise upon the 23-year-old pianist, who began tickling the ivories — “really playing!” Ottignon insists — at the age of one, when most of us were still trying to wrap our heads around the concept of left-foot-right-foot-left-foot-right-foot. At age 11, he picked up what was to be his first of many jazzman accolades — New Zealand’s 'most outstanding jazz musician under 25' honours. “My grandmothers on both sides were pianists,” he explains. “It came very naturally at a young age.” And it seems that music courses through the veins of the entire Ottignon clan — Aron has shared the stage with both brother Matt (saxophone, and occasionally flute and clarinet) and sister Holly (vocals) in various projects.

Yes, that Cui Jian. The godfather of Chinese rock. The one some call "China's Bruce Springsteen." The guy they put on the cover of the first Chinese Rolling Stone. The guy who last year shared a Shanghai stage and accompanied (kind of) Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones.

Shanghai's jazz scene is definitely deserving of some steady coverage, and who better to document it than someone in the thick of it? Here is how the man behind shanghaijazzscene dot com describes himself and his mission:

While we were enjoying a candlelit dinner -- seriously, there was no other light source -- at No. 5, we wondered: Is there a bar or restaurant in Shanghai with more comfortable chairs? We highly doubt it. They are almost too comfortable -- we found ourselves nearly nodding off during the main course.