The sixth and final concert in the 2007 JazzArt concert series put together by the JZ School featured Coco Zhao and his Possicobilities band yesterday afternoon at ifa village, a huge gallery at M50 on Moganshan lu. We thought the space, which is quite large and very concrete, would make the sound echo way too much; however, when it filled up with people it actually sounded pretty balanced. Only when the band got to their very loudest parts did it all sort of wash into each other and create a rumbling mass of sound. But that was kind of cool, too. more ›

The fourth concert in the JazzArt series takes place this Sunday August 12 at 3pm at the TwoCities gallery on Moganshan lu, and will feature the music of Canadian Clarinetist and Composer extraordinaire James Danderfer. He will lead a 5-piece group, performing original contemporary jazz that he has been writing over the last year in preparation for a recording the group will make, supported by a grant awarded by the Canada Council For the Arts. James has been based in Shanghai performing in a number of venues for over 2 years now, and the music on this upcoming album is largely inspired by life in this massive city we call home. It should be a fun concert, a sharp contrast to last month's concert by Alec Haavik's Friction Five at the 1918 Artspace (which was fantastic- we apologize to everyone for the glaring lack of announcement or review of it here. Here is a good picture and review of it in Chinese). James' understated, melodic style is a lot mellower than Alec's jazz-rock fusion, of course needless to say both are awesome in their own ways. more ›

"Sax in Shanghai" (not to be confused with a certain blog) is a concert and workshop given by the London-based National Saxophone Choir and it will take place on Thursday at JZ Club from 5-8pm. The event, organized through the JZ School, will feature about 20 saxophonists who regularly play with the NSC as well as any and all sax players who attend the workshop. During the workshop, which runs from 5 to about 6:30, the NSC members will invite everyone to play and prepare a few pieces that will be performed by everyone together at the concert. The concert itself will start at 7pm and will include a short feature by the saxophone group from the Shanghai Conservatory led by Zhang Xiaolu. more ›